


I'm Hooked On All These Feelings

by evanescentdream93



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: AU, F/M, What-If
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-02-06 14:04:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12819126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evanescentdream93/pseuds/evanescentdream93
Summary: Harry knew that in another life, he would have followed her to the edges of the world and beyond...and maybe he would follow her even in this life...A story where in another life, a boy who was born a pirate is now in this life born the son of one of Auradon's greatest heroes. However, even in this life, he still only has eyes for the daughter of a certain sea-witch. AU





	1. In Another Life

**Author's Note:**

> Originally a prompt given on Tumblr that asked for an AU where Harry is from Auradon and Uma is still from the Isle but it's still love at first sight...even if Uma doesn't know it.

The first time Harry saw her, he knew that in another life, he would have followed her to the edges of the world and beyond.

He found it remarkable how such a tiny girl stood out amongst the vibrant and eccentric group of children from the Isle that the prince had brought over. While Ben went on and on, reciting words Harry had heard so many times the days before during his oldest friend’s nervous pacing, and while Audrey glared daggers at the daughter of Maleficent, the son of Auradon’s most decorated Royal Navy Admiral, Killian Jones (though still fondly known as “Captain Hook” after the devious widely wanted fae-child Pan took one of his hands before his reign of terror on Neverland was put to an end with eternal sleep) was captivated by a scowling girl with braided hair the color of crashing waves who stood apart from the children of Cruella, Jafar, the Evil Queen, and Maleficent, with only the muscled blonde who had been introduced as youngest son of Gaston standing anywhere near her.

All too soon, Ben’s introduction speech was over and one hand of Audrey’s pink manicured nails were digging into his arms as she locked one of her arms with his and the other with Ben’s, expecting to be escorted, as she always had since they were children; escorted by the future High King of the United Stated of Auradon and the future Admiral of the King’s Royal Navy. Harry glanced over his shoulder as they led the new transfer students into Auradon Prep, startled when deep brown eyes met with his, pulling him into them, like the moon pulled the tides, promising to drown him in their depths. (And oh how willing he was to drown for her…)

“What are you looking at, Harry?” Audrey hissed pulling his attention back to reality as they passed King Adam’s beastly statue and stepped into the school.

“Just the sight of a beautiful lady,” he said honestly, giving her a boyish grin that had her both rolling her eyes and blushing before turning her attention back to Ben who seemed to be failing as well to keep his eyes off of a certain daughter of Maleficent. (It wasn’t a lie. Audrey, as expected, had just assumed he meant her, harmless flirt that he was.)

As the son of Dopey was introduced, Audrey and the daughter of Maleficent glared daggers back at each other, Ben trying to keep the delicate peace while the other children of the Isle poked and prodded around their new surroundings. Harry tried to be discreet as he watched the daughter of Ursula look around with what appeared to be boredom at everything the son of Gaston excitedly pointed at, her voice low as she murmured something back that the boy listened to, confusion clearly on his face before he chuckled, startling the De Vil boy once again into the arms of Jafar’s son. Harry wanted to know what she had said that was so funny, to have her gaze on him once again. To be the one to make _her_ laugh...

Sharp brown eyes once again connected with his and it was then that Harry knew. He knew that in another life, he would have followed her to the edges of the world and beyond. And as Audrey pulled him and Ben away in a huff, leaving Doug to take over the task of giving these children of villains the remaining tour of the school, he caught a glimpse of a wicked little smirk that was quickly hidden by the cover of teal and white braids and that’s when he really knew: He would follow Uma of the Isle, daughter of Ursula to the edges of the earth and beyond even in this life as well...

\----

She wouldn’t lie (for once), he was quite a looker with his sharp jawline and bright blue eyes that were the color that she always imagined the sea to be before she left the Isle: expressive and not to be underestimated.

However, though she usually wouldn’t mind (usually would actually enjoy) the way Mal’s face twisted into some mix of disgust and constipation every time he came around with some pitiful excuse or another to talk to Ursula’s bastard daughter, Uma hated the way he looked at her, hated how he looked like he’s actually interested in the words that come from the mouth of a pathetic sea-witch’s daughter. (Not even Gil was that attentive to her and they had been friends since Uma saved him from drowning when they were six. His brothers had thought it would be funny to tie cement bricks to his feet before pushing him into the deep water near the docks. _“His name is Gil! Shouldn’t he be able to swim with the fishes?”_ they had cackled after the young girl had dragged the slightly bigger boy back onto the docks, seaweed clinging to her hair.)

And most importantly, and this was probably the most crucial reason why Uma of the Isle hated the son of the famous “Captain Hook” so much: the way he says her name, like he’s uttering something precious, like it’s something that should be remembered and cherished when even her own mother can’t remember her only daughter’s name half the time…

She hated it. She hated him. And she hated herself because she knows those are all lies she tells herself because she can’t imagine...can’t allow someone to get that close to her after Mal’s betrayal…

“Hey! Stop dreaming about Sailor Pretty Boy and pay attention, Shrimpy!” Mal hissed, bringing Uma crashing back to cruel reality, located in the dorm room that Carlos, Jay, and Gil shared.

Gil gave her a worried look once Mal rolled her eyes returned back to going over the plan of getting the wand. Well...the newest plan. The first attempt had failed at the museum and though Mal had apparently lowered the defensives of Fairy Godmother’s painfully shy daughter, not much headway had been made in the two weeks that they had been stuck in Auradon with no wand to show their parents.

“This is ridiculous,” Uma sighed softly under her breath.

“I’m sorry,” Mal suddenly stopped once again, arms crossed over her chest. “Am I boring you, Shrimpy? Got something better to do, Shrimpy?”

_“Yes,”_ she wanted to say but Uma wasn’t stupid. Despite the bad blood between her and Mal, there was strength in numbers and here, on the other side of the barrier, she would rather trust the devil she knew than the sparkly pastel colored devils with too bright smiles here. “I was just thinking about that silly little princess that’s always clinging onto the prince. How ridiculous it is that she could ever think she be any good at being queen.”

Jay’s face is unreadable, sizing her up as he stood in his best intimidating pose next to Mal, prepared to move at the girl’s order; Carlos head is tilted, nose scrunched up as if Uma’s an equation he’s not sure what to do with just yet, hands fiddling nervously with a cell phone Jay had stolen for him to take apart and put back together; Evie is biting her lip, still fresh from being Castle-schooled, not completely accustomed to hiding her thoughts, her anxiety, how much she actually _likes_ it here; and Mal is looking down at Uma as if she just stepped into the shit of the dog that now followed Carlos around.

Luckily, even when he was unintentionally trying, Gil always came through for Uma as a loud growling sound was heard. “Uh...is it time for dinner, now?” he asked.

Mal sighed, massaging her temples before making a shooing motion with her hand that was all the permission Uma needed to take Gil’s wrist and drag him out of the room as if a dragon was just behind them (and technically, there was).

Once outside of the dorms and outside where the day was slowly bleeding out, Uma let out a relieved sigh, letting go of Gil. “Go on, get your dinner,” she nodded towards the dining hall that wasn’t too far off.

“You’re not coming?” he asked confused, not understanding how anyone could pass up the endless buffet of food that the school provided. “We don’t have to sit with Mal and the others if you don’t want to,” he said partially reading her correctly, something that Uma greatly appreciated though she would never acknowledge it out right to him. But Mal and her crew weren’t the only one she was trying to avoid in the dining hall.

“Nah,” Uma murmured, shaking her head. “Part of your angle of this stupid plan is to get close to the cheerleaders and the Tourney players with Jay and Carlos to see if they know of a way to get the wand. I’ll just put people off with the shrimp smell,” she sighed waving her hand in the direction of her braided hair that sometimes, at the most randomest of times, still gave off a shrimpy odor despite how many times she had washed it with any hair products she and Gil could manage to find.

Gil looked as if he was going to try for the umpteenth time to convince her that the smell wasn’t bad, that it was honestly hardly noticeable, but the growling of his stomach and the glare that his friend gave him left no room for argument.

“I’ll save you something,” he gave a little grin over his shoulder as he turned towards the dinning hall. “Meet you later at our spot in the book house?”

Uma bit her lip, trying to hold back a laugh. “You mean our spot in the _library?_ Yeah. I’ll be there working on _both_ of our essays.”

Gil grinned, walking backwards and giving her a thumbs up before he turned back around and jogged towards where food was.

Uma sighed, shouldering her bag she thankfully remembered to snag as they made their escape from the others and about to turn towards the direction of the library before a taller figure saddled from out of the shadows up close to her, sliding her bag off of her shoulder effortlessly and onto his. Uma didn’t even blink. Afterall, he had been doing chivalrous crap like this basically since she stepped foot in Auradon. She should have been upset that he found her so predictable to know that she would try to avoid going to the dining hall just so they wouldn’t run into each other. There were a lot of things that Uma should be doing at the moment to get away with him, to not form connections with someone she was going to ultimately betray once they got the wand, but right now, as Harry “Hook” Jones’s hand lifted her hand to his lips in a greeting that felt so natural to them both - expressive eyes that held wonder, mischief, and unfounded adoration never leaving hers - all those things were forgotten.

There were no thoughts of Mal or wands or drunk mothers who would never be satisfied. All that was there was a girl and a boy and the storm that was brewing stronger and stronger between them. So strong that Uma thought she would never be able to breathe again...

“What kept ya so long, darlin’?”

(And oddly, Uma was perfectly fine with that.)


	2. Drowning In You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Harry has it bad. (And maybe Uma does too.)

The sun shined down on the picturesque view of Auradon Prep students enjoying their day off from classes. Sitting on the bleachers, Uma tried to tune out the Tourney team’s coaches loud yells and whistleblowing as the group of boys ran drills. She pushed up the sunglasses that she had found (stolen) back further up her nose as she allowed herself to soak up the sun’s rays.

“And you’re sure this’ll work?” a timid voice asked next to her.

Uma spared a glance over to her side causing the pastel colored princess next to her shift nervously as she gazed at her over the rims of her glasses.

“Well, it’s no love potion, but it’ll definitely give you a bit a luck and confidence to help raise the odds in your favor with asking out whatever pretty face has caught your attention,” Uma shrugged turning her gaze back to the sidelines of the Tourney field where Gil was waving happily up at her from where he stood amongst the other cheerleaders. Uma gave a slight nod of acknowledgment which seemed to satisfy the boy before he began to talk excitedly with some other cheerleader. Audrey, who had apparently made it her mission to watch all the Isle kids scowled up at her from her place near Gil before shouting instructions at the others around her to get into position.

Uma rolled her eyes, glad that for the most part, Audrey focused most of her attention on Mal.

“O-okay. How much do I owe you?” the princess asked, drawing the sea-witch’s attention back to her.

“Not much,” Uma shrugged again, nonchalantly, moving her braids over her shoulder. “Just your voice.”

Biting her lip to hold back a laugh, Uma watched as the girl nearly toppled out of her seat, looking extremely pale.

“Kidding!” she plastered on a sickening sweet smile on her face. “Just kidding. It’ll be ten-fifty, angelfish.”

The girl smiled awkwardly, handing over the money before quickly scampering away, a small bottle in her hand.

Uma sighed, smile quickly melting on her face as she flopped back into her seat, tucking the cash into her boot.

If she sold a dozen or so more of her “luck in a bottle” - which was mostly just boiled sandalwood, ginger, and a few other nice smelling things Gil had managed to find (These idiots would believe anything you gave them when you had a mother who was infamous for her potions) - then she would be able to get one way bus tickets for herself and Gil to the furthest kingdom from Auradon. Shit was going to hit the fan, whether or not Mal and her crew got the wand and she wanted to make sure she was far far away from it all.  

She was nearly all packed up and ready to go to what was quickly becoming her corner in the library when she heard a now familiar voice shout out her voice from the field. Uma refused to acknowledge him, making her way quickly down the bleachers, ignoring the way she felt his gaze burning on her back.

The sea witch’s daughter had just made a few steps away from the bleachers when she heard the sound of someone running after her.

“Uma!” Harry jogged up next to her, slightly out of breath but sporting his usual boyish grin.

“You know,” Uma began, never slowing down. “Maybe this is a cultural difference but I’m pretty sure you’re stalking me.”

Harry snorted, gently grabbing her hand and placing another one of his too gentle, too passion filled kisses on her hand as he always did in greeting. “I’m sure a beautiful lass such as yourself is used to men, and perhaps even women, chasing after your affection, darling.”

Uma paused, unbeckoned memories right after Mal’s betrayal coming to mind, when people thought she was too weak and too defenseless to slash at their throats with a rusty kitchen knife of her mother’s. She had shown them.

Removing her hand from his grip, with an expressionless mask, Uma asked, “So that gives people the right to invade my space and do what they want with me? Because I’m a _beautiful lass_?”

The boy took a step back, as if he was slapped before his face contorted into rage, something that Uma had never thought was possible for a person born in Auradon to make. She should have been scared but something within her told her that his rage wasn’t directed towards her. (And it would never be.)

“Uma,” his voice was firm, the accent he tried to hide growing heavy. “If I am bothering ye, then I’ll stop. Ye won’t see neither hide nor hair of me. I never meant-”

She put a hand firmly against his chest, stopping his rant. She should just say, “Yes, go away”, knowing that he would keep his word and leaving her with one less thing for Mal to nag on her about. No good came from the son of Auradon’s most celebrated and decorated hero taking an interest in the sea witch’s unwanted daughter. After all, no matter how his attentiveness made her feel like she was riding the crests of the tides, he would always be seen as a hero and she, a villain.

She was going to say that, to hiss and curse at his name, at people like his father who were the reason why her mother and everyone else’s parents were revived and forced onto the Isle. Why she had grown up not knowing her heritage or how she wasn’t given a chance to be seen as anything more than a sea witch’s daughter or Mal’s favorite punching bag.

“Stay,” her traitorous mouth uttered surprising both herself and the boy across from her.

“Stay?” he questioned, hesitant hope found in the corners of his mouth ( _No, no, stop thinking about how soft his lips look_ , she mentally scolded herself).

Uma of the Isle rolled her eyes, a mischievous look in her eye as she grabbed the front of his jersey, tugging him firmly in front of her, ignoring the way that at this close distance she saw his gaze briefly linger on her lips and the butterflies it gave her.

“If you’re not afraid of the big bad sea witch stealing your voice,” she smirked.

A deep chuckle escaped his chest before he smoothly went into a kneel, taking her hand once again. Though his rage has passed, his voice was lulling in its unfiltered gruffness. She found she preferred it that way, wild and passionate, just like him.

“Well seeing as yer ma is safely behind a barrier and I only see a beautiful goddess before me,” he murmured, kissing her fingers almost reverently to the point where Uma forgot to breathe. “I’ll take my chances,” he winked up at her.

Unaware to the two, eyes were watching them. One of an untrusting princess afraid that history would repeat itself and villains would once again reign. Two other pairs of eyes looked worriedly between each other on the Tourney field, wondering who would be the one to tell a certain half-fae of this new development...

 

\---

“Audrey says she’s bad news.”

“You’ll have to be a bit less vague as to who you’re referring to, little sister of mine,” Harry murmured into his phone. “Audrey says a lot of people are bad news, including you.” He kicked off his shoes and flopped back onto his bed.

Practice had finished hours ago and he had just returned from a small sailing adventure with one of Auradon Prep’s newest residents.

 _“You’ve lived amongst pirates, some of whom despite their morals were the best sailors of their time and they_ **_didn’t_ ** _teach ye anything about sailing?” Harry had questioned incredulously. She had told him that she had lived on the side of the Isle amongst the wharfs and pirate ships, many belonging to scoundrels such as Barbossa and Blackbeard._

 _“Oh, some of them taught me_ **_many_ ** _things,” Uma said with a casual flip of her braids over her shoulder that momentarily distracted him as he watched how the sun highlighted the blues and the greens and the white in her hair. His head snapped up at her though when he finally processed her words. She laughed, flicking his nose before leaning back into the sun warmed patch of field that they had found, away from the hustle and bustle and curious and always watching eyes of their classmates. “Harry, chill. They only taught me how to fend for myself. My mother may not give a shit about me but some of those pirates prayed to Poseidon, her father, before they were stuck on the Isle and are a superstitious lot. They might pillage and steal but they do have a Code.” She closed her eyes. “Besides, pirates were the last things I had to worry about on the Isle. Traitorous dragons on the other hand...” she sighed trailing off and he saw the way she clenched her fist tightly._

_He wanted to ask her more, to know everything about her, but very early on he realized that if she wanted to tell him something, she would on her own time. He remembered when Audrey or Chad would withhold information from him when he was younger and how they always ended in a shouting match due to Harry’s quick fuse. But with Uma, though he still didn’t like it, he followed her lead._

_“Well,” he sighed getting to his feet. “We’ll need to change that.”_

_“Change what?” Uma questioned opening her eyes to see Harry standing above her with a mischievous look of his own as he extended a hand down to her._

_Tugging her to her feet, Harry grinned when she stumbled slightly into him. He gave her a devilish grin, which she rolled her eyes at but didn’t push away from him. “Well, can’t have a lovely sea goddess who doesn’t know how to sail. What kind of man would her sailor be if he didn’t help her fix that?”_

_He watched as Uma looked thoughtfully into his eyes, searching for something. After a moment, she stepped back with a soft smirk, something that he knew was filled with vulnerability rarely shown._

_“Teach me then. So that there will always be winds in your sails,” she spoke softly, power in her words. Unintentional magic, but magic all the same._

_A goddess’s blessing._

“Harry!”

The boy snapped out of his thoughts suddenly, hearing Calista Jane, or CJ as she preferred to be called, practically fume on the other side of the phone. (She hated to be ignored, even for a second.)

“The Isle girl,” his sister sighed frustratedly. “The one you’re smitten with and apparently daydreaming about in the middle of phone calls, dear brother. And don’t try to deny it. I’ll call and badger Ben or Jane for info. They’ll both sing like canaries, those two.”

The boy scrubbed his face tiredly. Though he loved his younger sister dearly, Calista Jane was already tiring him and he had only been on the phone with her for a moment. At least it wasn’t Harriet. (Seven seas, if it was Harriet this would have been much, much worse, he knew.)

“Manners, ya little fairy,” he chidded. “You’re still in trouble for badgering them when they wouldn’t tell you what I got you for birthday gift. And the _Isle girl_ has a name you know.”

“And I’m waiting for you to tell me it. Come on, I’m all on bated breath and everything. Your attempts to seriously woo anyone will surely bring laughter to my ever so dull life,” CJ drawled dramatically on the other line before breaking out into giggles.

Harry had to pity her. Both of his sisters had been homeschooled back on Neverland, though they came to the mainland often enough. Harry, as his father’s heir had been sent off to Auradon Prep a decision that he still wasn’t sure how he felt about.

“Always know how to boost a man’s self-esteem, don’t you, Callie?” he groaned, waiting for his sister’s gigglings to subside.

“S-so,” CJ finally said, calming down. “What’s her name?”

Harry closed his eyes, unaware of the little smile that played on his lips as he thought of her. “Uma,” he breathed reverently, his mind calling up deep brown eyes and presence that could be as calm or as fearsome as the sea.

“Geez, you really do have it bad,” CJ laughed always perceptive of his emotions. And Harry would fully admit he did.

As soon as she had stepped out of the limo from the Isle, he was fascinated by her, pulled to her like the moon pulled the tides. She wasn’t anything like what he had been warned she would be like by the adults, the heroes who didn’t even know Uma but only knew her mother, Ursula.

She was a sarcastic lass with a sharp tongue and even sharper kitchen knife (he had learned that last bit when Chad had tried to flirt with Uma to get her Chemistry answers a few weeks ago. Harry wished he had recorded it. Chad nearly peed himself).

But Harry also knew that Uma, despite her cool exterior, was passionate and protective of those she deemed worthy. He had watched as she spent hours searching the library for books on how to help Gil with his reading difficulties so that no one here could look down at him. Watched as she fretted over him when he had a slight cold a week ago (he had initially thought her worry was hilarious until Gil had clued him, in that unassuming way that he always did, that many died from colds on the Isle).

And he watched (and hated) as that vibrant personality of hers dimmed in Mal’s presence. (Harry loved Ben like a brother but the other boy was too damn naive and smitten himself with Maleficent’s daughter, despite already being taken with Audrey. Why, even bother when the Mal sneered at him like she had stepped in something a dog left behind? Harry never really liked being in the same place with her for too long.)

“Is she, ya know, _the_ girl? The one you’ve been dreaming about for years?”

Harry pushed himself up from his bed, needing to move, bare feet padding back and forth in front of his window.

“Now don’t go bringing that up, Callie,” he sighed trying not to think about the dreams he had since he was wee lad but it was already too late.

There had been dreams where all he heard was a haunting voice, demanding, urging, pleading for him to say something, a specific something that in his dream he knew and proclaimed with reverence but when he woke up he could never remember. There were some dreams where all he could hear was her crying, his heart breaking at the sound, at not being able to comfort her. Those dreams he hated the most because  he would often awaken to find strange bruises around his wrist, torso, and sometimes even around his neck like something long and flexible had been trying to squeeze the life out of him. (He had remembered the first time he had that dream, he had been six and it had taken Harriet hours to calm him down and reassure that it was nothing more than just a night terror.) And then, recently, there were some dreams where he was embraced by warmth, by her. He would feel a calming hand run through his hair, soft lips pressed to his cheek, his eyes, his jaw and neck, and then finally they would press against his lips and he felt like he was drowning in her with no regrets... (It was often horrible when he had those dreams at home where Harriet and CJ could walk in without warning. They would never stop laughing if they saw how...aroused a simple dream could make him.)

Harry leaned his forehead against the glass of his window thoughtfully, his frown melting away into a wistful look when he caught sight of a familiar teal head making her way to the dorms from the dining halls where had last seen her. His gaze followed her until he saw her safely enter the dorms, Gil trailing, as always, happily behind her.

“Maybe,” he finally supplied. “But she’s more than just a dream...She’s...she’s...real.”

CJ made a snorting noise, but thankfully didn’t comment picking up the tender and soft qualities in her brother’s tone. However, she asked something worse, something that Harry had been trying not to think about despite it’s approaching date.

“So, are you going to introduce your little Isle girlfriend to father and Harriet when we come to Family Day?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Thank you for the amazing feedback, kudos, bookmarks, and subscriptions in the last chapter. I'm so excited that people are interested in this story and I hope you all continue to enjoy it and let me know what you think of it so far. 
> 
> Anway, I don't really have much to say other than you're all amazing and I really appreciate your support. If you haven't already, please check out my other Huma story, "We'll Light the Fuse" which was just updated about a week ago. 
> 
> Thank you again and until next time!


	3. Oh Shell No!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which some things can't be forgiven...

 

Uma was not a morning person, but often having to be the one to open and close her mother’s shop trained her body rise before the sun’s first light even touched land. On the Isle, Uma thought it was a curse. Here in Auradon, as she silently dressed, making sure to wake neither the sleeping beauty nor the sleeping dragon, Uma thought of it as her saving grace. Though they may share the same mission of obtaining the wand, that did not mean that Uma wanted to be in their presence any longer than she had to be.

Uma grabbed her bag, ignoring the beautifully stitched together turquoise dyed jacket that Evie had presented to her weeks ago. The olive branch of a gift was still wrapped in the dark blue gift bag it had been given in. Instead, Uma reached for the almost threadbare brown jacket she had taken from Gil after his first growth spurt years ago. Even though it had been years since the boy had been able to fit it, it still managed to dwarf her small frame and stop just a few inches above her knees and the sleeves always needed to be rolled up twice to not cover her hands.  

Once Uma had successfully made it out of the dorms, she immediately began to make her way to the library, one of the few places on campus that would be open this early. It wasn’t the most exciting place to be, but it was quiet and no one really bothered her there. It was a place where she could just enjoy the serene silence that could never really be found on the Isle. That was _one_ thing she liked about Auradon, she supposed. If she searched for it, there were moments where it was easy for her to forget that she wasn’t the only person in the world. That she wasn’t the daughter of the most feared sea witch in existence.

The library made it easy to forget that Mal was breathing down her back to come up with ideas to steal the wand, asking question after question about why Hook’s son was always around her. It was easy to forget that Audrey was watching each of them like a hawk, just waiting for them to slip up so she could run to that overstuffed Fairy Godmother and send them all on a one way trip back to the Isle. And most importantly, it was easy to forget that the last thing her mother had said to her before sending her here, wasn’t even a grudging goodbye but a warning:

 _“Once you get there, you better take out Maleficent’s brat, get the wand, and take down the barrier so I can finally get revenge on that foolish Triton and the rest of those fools of Auradon! But, if you fail, do me a favor”,_ Ursula had hissed, pulling her briefly away from the limo and shoving a small vile into Uma’s hand that she instantly without looking knew was poison from Yzma’s shop, _“ and turn into seafoam so I never have to see your worthless pathetic face again!”_

Though Uma had sixteen years of her mother’s verbal and physical abuse as evidence to prove that she shouldn’t be surprised, it still hurt to know her own mother would rather want her dead than have her fail.

Uma huffed at the thought, hands going up to collar of her jacket to keep out the early morning chill. She paused when her hand brushed against the warm chain around her neck. Alone with only her thoughts, Uma couldn’t help but let a silly little smile twist her lips up as she pulled the chain and the object attached out from underneath her shirt. In her hand was a small blue and green conch shell with some splatterings of gold that created unique patterns along the smooth surface that she had been given the other day when she was with Harry.

 _“Pixie dust_ ,” _Harry murmured close to her, pointing out the gold splatterings on the smooth surface just before much larger, warmer, and callous hands gently placed the small trinket into her hand._

_Uma lifted the shell up into the light, dazzled by how the shell made rainbow colors dance across her skin in._

_“Pretty, isn’t it?” Harry grinned next to her, enjoying the breeze from the lake as the sail boat they were in rocked gently on the water. It wasn’t anything like sailing on the sea but the coast was about three hours away, too far for last minute sailing._ Another day, _he thought already planning a sailing adventure that she would sure to enjoy._

_Uma nodded, still entranced by the patterns the shell made. “I didn’t even know these existed.”_

_Harry stretched his arms above his head before smoothly placing his arm around her shoulders. Uma snorted at the contact but didn’t push him away, leaning into him slightly as he explained the process that led to pixie shells._

_“Long before Benny-Boy’s dad and Fairy Godmother placed restrictions on magic and created the bridge between Neverland and the mainland, excess pixie dust from the fairies’ deposit in Pixie Hollow would run into the rivers,” Harry explained, watching the way her hardened mask melted away into a look of wonder. “Eventually, it would trickle out into the water surrounding the island and embed itself into the shells in the surrounding seabed. Doesn’t happen to all shells though nobody knows why. Part of the reason they’re so rare. Not even those on Neverland can get ahold of them easily.”_

_Uma hummed softly, absentmindedly playing with the thin chain that was attached to the shell. “Then how did you get this one? Steal? Flirt with one of Neverland’s pretty little mermaids to get you one?”_

_Harry snorted. “Ye’ve never met a Neverland mermaid if yer callin’ em pretty. This,” he said taking the necklace away from her only to unclasp it and put it around her neck. For a brief moment, Uma felt weightless, her attention on his little lopsided grin and how she liked it better than his cocky overconfident one he usually wore around others. “This belonged to my mother.”_

_Suddenly, the weightless feeling was gone and Uma pulled away from him, protest on her tongue as she reached to take off the necklace but something stopped her. She looked down and found that he had laced their fingers together._

_“Keep it. Never-shells are for protecting,” he said raising both of her hands to his lips to press lingering kisses to their intertwined fingers._

_She pushed him away with a frown set deep on her lips, storms brewing in her eyes. “I’m not some pastel pink princess needing to be saved. I don’t need_ you _to save me.”_

_Harry chortled, getting up, but not before tugging her braid teasingly. “Ye must not have heard of my sisters if you think that’s the type of lass I’d seriously court.” He grinned to himself, adjusting the sails, when he saw how her cheeks darkened at his not so sly admission. (He considered it a good sign that she didn’t seem repulsed by the idea of him courting her.) “I’m not doubting that ye can take care of yourself. I’ve seen ye sneak into the gym after hours and work on yer swordplay with Gil. Anyone would be a right fool to underestimate ye.”_

_“Still though,” Uma insisted, ignoring her warm cheeks and getting up to her feet to adjust the rudder as he had taught her an hour or so before. “I can’t accept some dead woman’s jewelry I’ve never even met.” The ‘_ I can’t take the only thing you have of her,’ _was left unspoken though understood._

_“Well you’re wearing your ma’s necklace,” Harry pointed out, nodding towards her mother’s old necklace. “So technically you’re already wearing some dead woman’s jewelry.”_

_Crossing her arms, Uma did not look amused._

_“Okay, okay,” he held up his hands. “How about this then.” He gently took her hands in his, staring intently into her eyes. “Keep the necklace and I’ll take it back after ye cheer loudly for me at the Tourney game coming up, where I’ll have a little surprise for ya” he winked. “And for a fair exchange, ye can give me something that I’ll return back to ye as well.”_

_Though not looking completely pleased with the situation, Uma unhesitatingly reached around her neck and unclasped the necklace that once belonged to her mother. Harry’s hands instantly went to her waist to hold her steady as she balanced on the balls of her feet to clasp the necklace around his neck._

_Harry’s fingers dug slightly into her hips as he felt her breath fan onto his cheek. He wanted to bottle this moment and keep it with him until his dying breath._

_“Fair is fair, I suppose. Don’t lose this, sailor,” she said softly one hand idly playing with the hair at the back of his neck while the other one placed itself on his rapidly beating heart._

_He smiled, his forehead leaning against hers as they let the lake gently rock the boat. “Aye, aye, captain.”_

The strange fluttering warm feeling in her chest that Uma felt yesterday on the boat still flared up when she thought about him. And surprisingly, it was becoming a little less strange and almost something she looked forward to. Didn’t she deserve to be happy for once?

“Looks like someone is having a nice happy thought. Mind sharing?”

Uma nearly jumped, spinning around to come face to face with a grinning thief, leaning against a nearby tree as if he had always been there.

“Jay,” she murmured in acknowledgment, making a move to continue on her path when a tanned arm wrapped around her shoulders, steering her away from the library and in another direction. “What are you doing?” Uma frowned though she didn’t make too much of a struggle to get out of his hold. At the moment, he wasn’t being hostile and they were technically allies in this strange place (though she kept tabs of where his hands were at all times).

“What? Can’t go on an early morning stroll with an old friend?” the boy questioned with a grin.

“We’re not friends,” Uma finally pulled out of his hold but still walked along with him. That seemed to be enough to satisfy him as Jay allowed her to put several inches of space between them.

“Ouch! That hurts Uma!” Jay teased with an overplayed pained expression, his hand gripping tightly at his vest over where his heart was for a few seconds before he broke out into chuckles. Uma rolled her eyes, already fed up with whatever game he was trying to play. Jay may act the part but he wasn’t a fool.

“Spit it out! What do you want Jay?” Uma sighed stopping.

Jay stopped as well, his expression serious as he got straight to the point. “What’s going on with you and the Hook kid?”

Outwardly, Uma was expressionless. Inside panic began to spread. Possessive whispers in the back of her head growing louder into a chorus of “Mine! Stay away!”

“The same thing that we’re all trying to do,” she lied smoothly. “Find a way to get the damn wand.”

Jay looked at her in that way that she always hated even when they were little, when they could have once considered each other friends, like he was observing her, taking note of every opening in order to get the best steal.  

“It wouldn’t be surprising if it was Evie but I never expected _you_ to take the seduction route,” he circled around her once before stopping, looking as if he was seeing her in a new light. It made Uma uneasy. She really didn’t want to be alone with him right now. “You really think Hook can get you to the wand?”

“ _No,”_ Uma thought to herself. In all honesty, she had given the wand very little thought, either busy with her potions or...with Harry. But instead she answered, “Yes”.

“Really?” Jay murmured, a hint of disbelief in his tone. “Because it looks like you have a soft spot for the guy.”

“That’s the point,” Uma snorted, crossing her arms and praying to anyone listening (maybe her grandfather if he even gave a damn about her) that her voice came out even. “What are you trying to imply?” she snapped.

Jay briefly looked away and for a moment, it looked like he had a pained expression on his face, like he was struggling to say something  before he turned back to Uma with his usual smirk.

“Just giving a warning, babe,” he winked, moving closer as he reached out, tugging one her braids lightly. Uma’s hands turned into fists at her side, trying to hide the way they shook. It wasn’t affectionate like when Harry played with her hair. If anything, it made her skin crawl at Jay’s close proximity.  “You have one day to end whatever you have with lover boy or I tell Mal.”

“Is that a threat?” Uma narrowed her eyes, neither noticing how the sky suddenly became darker as the rising sun was covered with ominous looking grey clouds. The forecast had predicted clear sunny skies for the day.

Frowning down at her, Jay’s expression was serious and maybe, just a bit apologetic. “It’s a warning, Uma. You know you’re currently at the bottom of the Isle food chain. But this, this could raise you above all that Shrimpy bullshit. You, even Gil...you would _really_ be one of us again...just like how we used to be.”

Thunder and lighting cracked the sky, raining pouring down but neither of the two teens moved for cover. “Like how we used to?” Uma chuckled darkly, eyes hard as the thunder boomed loudly above them. “Like we _fucking_ used to?” she roared highlighted by lightning as she shoved Jay and his hand away from her. “You mean like when my best friend _humiliated_ me and covered me in rotten shrimp?” she asked pushing his shoulders hard, catching the boy slightly off guard with her strength. He wobbled to gain his balance. “You mean like how everyone else, _all_ of my friends and alliances, except for Gil, turned their back on me because they were afraid of some spoiled brat tattling to her mommy? How _you_ just stood there?” She shoved him again, this time making him stumble back and lose his balance where he landed in a muddy puddle.

Despite his completely soiled appearance, Jay looked up at the girl through the rain, his expression bordering pleading. (But that couldn’t be right...It was just all part of his game, Uma thought. To make her look weak and gullible like Mal did when they were ten.)

“Uma,” Jay said slowly, carefully. “If you’re against Mal you’ve basically put a noose around your neck. Ya gotta think carefully about this. My hands will be tied if you go on like this. There’s only so much looking out I can do for you and your sailor and that little side potions business that you haven’t really been doing a good job hiding before Mal finds out. Is this pretty boy even worth it?”

Uma sneered down at him. “Don’t pretend to look out for me, Jay. Because no one’s looking out for me. It’s just me. You made your decision when you allowed Mal to torment and humiliate me for the past six years on the Isle. I already know where you stand though,” Uma laughed cruelly. “You pathetic little street rat.”

Jay’s pleading look faded, his face turning hard and unreadable. “One day, Uma. End it,” he said getting up to his feet and pushing past her, “before I _let_ Mal end you.”

Uma held her ground for several minutes, until she was sure that Jay was no longer around before she fell to her knees, ignoring the mud that began to seep through her jeans, and pretending that it was just the rain that was running down her face.

\---

Harry spent the night after talking to his sister struggling to find sleep. He spent hours into the morning in bed, mind filled with every possible scenario involving Harriet meeting Uma. His father meeting Uma…

He sighed, as he listened to the rain pounding against his window. Memories of the other day sailing with Uma managed to brighten up the gloom of his thoughts. He had just gotten out of his bed, scrubbing tiredly at his face, wondering if he should just get up and try to burn off some restless energy before seeing if his sea goddess had holed herself up in the library again when he heard a knock at his door.

“Harry?”

Instantly, he made his way to the door, nearly tripping over his own feet twice in his haste. When he pulled open the door, he wasn’t expecting to see her.

“Mal?”

Maleficent’s daughter smiled brightly up at him, twirling a purple lock around her finger. “Hi Harry! Can we talk?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Thank you again for all the kudos, comments, bookmarks, subscriptions, etc. They're all seriously appreciated and totally make my day.
> 
> Not much to say about this one. Because of the holidays, I probably won't be able to update until after new years because I do want to spend some time working on my other Huma story, "We'll Light the Fuse" which you should check out if you already haven't.
> 
> In case I don't update until 2018, I just wanted to say happy holidays and thank you for your support in 2017! I hope you can all continue to support me in 2018!
> 
> Until next time!


	4. The Yellow Bandana

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Mal has been very invested...

**_On the Isle, 6 years ago_ **

He hadn’t been there. Didn’t see it in person himself but the rumors that had spread throughout the Isle were so detailed, so vivid that ten year old Gil almost felt like he had been there which seemed so much worse to him than actually being there.

He checked everywhere he could think of. The dilapidated shack of an old pirate long dead that she would stay in any time her mother kicked her out. The rocky patch of the grey beach that she often went to when she was in one of her moods and wanted to be alone. He searched high and low until he finally found her alone in an alley near her mother’s shop. He could smell the rotten shrimp even before he got anywhere near her. Luckily enough, LeGume’s were made with stomachs of steel. And luckily enough for the girl he found alone and dejected in the alley, this son of Gaston, albeit not the smartest, was extremely loyal to his best friend.

“Go away!” Uma growled, wiping at her red eyes roughly before throwing a nearby empty bottle at him while sending him the nastiest glare she could manage.

Gil managed to easily dodge the bottle, barely batting an eye at the fact that she _actually_ had been aiming for his head.

He got closer to her, frowning at the sudden realization that he never noticed how much shorter and smaller she was compared to him. Sure, Gil had recently gone through a growth spurt but she was tiny, just barely making it up to his chest. Her personality and confidence had just always seemed so large and reliable up until this point. Now...wow...he really couldn’t get over how small she looked.

“You have shrimp in your hair,” he pointed out reaching out to pull it from her hair. She slapped his hand away hard, taking a step back from him.

“How fucking dumb are you?” Uma yelled at him, kicking a nearby old and rotten crate until it collapsed. “Don’t you think I already know that?”

Gil saw that the act of destruction didn’t do anything to soothe her anger. Her rage. Her pain.

He felt helpless.

If it was a matter of strength or doing a small errand for her he knew explicitly what to do: he followed her, knowing Uma always was planning something. She was the brains, the beauty, the reason why they had both survived so long on the Isle and he was...well he had the brawn. But brawn was honestly a dime a dozen on the Isle. Replacing him wouldn’t be that hard...

“How could she do something like that? I thought we were partners! The baddest of the bad! I thought we were friends!” she cried out angrily shoving a nearby stack of crates, blinking rapidly against the tears in her eyes. Uma earned a yowl from one of Lucifer’s many kittens that had been perched on the crate before it jumped onto a nearby low roof, away from the rampaging girl. “Screw you!” she yelled after the cat. Suddenly, she turned her fury towards Gil. “And you! Why the hell are you still here? Where were you? Were you in on this the whole time? Thought it would be funny? Huh? HUH?!” she yelled at the boy,” pushing him hard with all her strength with each question.

At his unresponsiveness, her open palmed pushing turned to closed fisted hits that didn’t care where they landed.

“Why are you not fighting back!?” she growled angrily, braids flying, when the most he would do was let out a pained grunt. “Come on! Fight me! I’m already at the bottom of this fucking Isle food chain. Come at me!”

Gil shook his head. “No, I don’t want to, but you can keep hitting me,” he offered quietly, a stark contrast to her anger fueled rant. “My dad usually feels better after he’s done that when he has a rough day. You can do it too, if that’ll make you feel better. He usually goes until he knocks me out” he said earnestly, his expression showing that he wanted to please her, that he just wanted her to be alright.

Uma stared at him, the fire in her instantly simmering. She looked away from Gil’s eager to please face, disgusted with herself. Disgusted with the Isle. Disgusted with Mal and her backstabbing. Disgusted that hearing your friend was a punching bag for his dad wasn’t jarring as she knew it would be if they lived off this damn rock.

Uma took a deep breath but nearly gagged on the smell emitting from her hair. “Just...just help me take my braids out so I can watch this gunk out,” she murmured turning to head to the back entrance of the Chip Shop. “Then we’ll plan ways to get off this damn Isle and leave all these losers to rot behind.”

Gil grinned as he followed her, just happy that she was willing to include him in her plans. “Whatever you say, Shrim- I mean Uma!”

Rolling her eyes, Uma led the way and as always since they were six, Gil followed.

 

**Auradon, Present**

Coldness, that had nothing to do with the rain soaking into her clothes, sank deep into her bones.

“ _If you’re against Mal, you’ve basically put a noose around your neck,”_ Jay’s voice taunted her thoughts.

The grey clouds above rolled across the sky with booming thunder and striking lightning as the only witnesses to her fury, her anger...her heartbreak…

“ _Fuck Jay. Fuck Mal,”_ she thought with a lump in her throat as she imagined blue eyes as blue as the sea.

Why did the universe seem so intent on taking anything good from her life? Why was it that even amongst the villains she was a loser?

“Uma? Are you alright?” a concerned voice questioned above her just as the rain that had been pelting down on her suddenly stopped.

Jolting where she sat, Uma looked up into the worried too warm, too kind, (too naive) eyes of Prince Ben. A bright Auradon yellow umbrella was held above her head, covering her from the rain while the usually pristine blue and yellow of his suit began to quickly be drenched by the rain.

She didn’t answer. Wasn’t sure if she should answer, let alone how. Up until this point, Uma had tried to have limited contact with the prince. She avoided him mostly because his pretty in petty pink girlfriend Audrey was always glaring daggers at any of the Isle kids who dared got close to her precious Benny-Boo. However, If Uma was being perfectly honest though, the way that Ben looked at her, looked at all of them, like he could see the potential that her mother always denied her having, made her feel a twisting feeling in her gut that she didn’t even want to think of a guilt. (Villains never felt guilt, especially over princes.)

“Uma?” Ben questioned again when she still didn’t move let alone respond, eyes filling with more concern when she didn’t respond.

“I’m fine,” she managed to hoarsely get out, avoiding looking at him in hopes that he wouldn’t see how red her eyes were. She needed to get up, to get away from this too bright boy that she would inevitably have to deceive (from this too bright boy she may inevitably even play a role in his death). “You can go now,” she hissed, attempting to mask her discomfort when he continued to look at her with unfiltered concern.

Ben’s expression showed that he obviously didn’t believe her though.

“W-well,” he began sounding uncomfortable himself before his face lighted up in thought. “Let me walk you to wherever you were going at least,” he smiled easily. “I would be a bad host if I didn’t offer you some protection from the rain.”

Uma waited. Waited for him to laugh and mock her like she was so used to people on the Isle doing. Her shoulders slumped slightly when she realized that Beasty Boy was actually sincere. “You’re as sickeningly good as you look,” she sighed, the usual bite in her tone replaced with weariness.

The thunder above rumbled with a rumble of agreement.

Ben chuckled, still holding his umbrella carefully over her head as he gently guided her somewhere else, not seeming to mind at all the way his hair was plastered to his forehead.  

“How are you settling into Auradon?” he asked inquisitively. “I haven’t really had the opportunity to check up on you since you’ve arrived and Harry unfortunately likes to keep you all to himself.”

Rolling her eyes, Uma crossed her arms over her chest, easily keeping pace with his much longer legs. “Well school sucks but there’s less mold on the food here and I haven’t had to deal with one of my mother’s beatings in weeks so I guess it’s not horrible.”

She managed to hold back a snicker at the way his smile faltered on his face at her words.

“Your mother beat you?” Ben questioned, looking very awkward.

“It’s the Isle, Princey Boy. Everyone’s parents either beats them with an extra helping of mentally fuck you up. Besides, a beating you can walk off,” she continued, finding some sort of sick fascination in the way his face grew paler. “Starvation and infection unfortunately is a little bit harder when you’re living twenty years in a garbage strike, eating whatever you royals throw away.” She glared hard at the boy, gaze heavy with blame. “Then again, malnutrition and death probably aren’t as regular an occurrence here as it is on the Isle, aren’t they?”

“I-I didn’t know -” Ben responded. “How is that possible?”

“Because you didn’t care to know! I mean who ever thinks about the villains?” Uma cut him off, ready to go off as soon as the first excuse left his mouth. However, the prince surprised her.

“You’re right. I didn’t,” he said honestly. “I never really thought about what life could have been like over there. I don’t think anyone here has. But I don’t think that’s acceptable for anyone, villain or not.”

Uma scoffed, choosing to focus on the way that water squished in her shoes than on the way that Prince Ben was looking at her. It was a look that was somewhere between the blind faith that Gil always showed her and the intense genuine interest Harry never failed to give her. It was unnerving seeing the ways the gears were turning in Ben’s head but not knowing exactly what he was thinking.

Silence settled thickly between them as Ben walked her around seemingly aimlessly. Not for the first time, Uma wondered how in the Seven Seas she found herself in this awkward situation and if there was any way she could get out of it. She just wanted to change clothes and hide away in the makeshift security of the library. Pretending that Mal didn’t exist. That Jay didn’t exist. That she didn’t have to once again lose what she wanted just to survive in this shitty world.

“You know, you’re not afraid to be honest, even with the a future king,” Ben grinned brightly once again though the remnants of their previous conversation obviously still weighed on his mind. “Another reason why I suppose Harry likes to spend time with you.”  

“More like stalking,” Uma murmured with no real heat.

“You’re important to Harry,” he shrugged with a grin growing wider, trying to hide his barely concealed giddiness when her cheeks darkened at his comment. “And I think it’s important to vet my fiance’s new girlfriend.”

Nearly tripping over her feet, Uma quickly spun around to face him, eyes wide.

“FIANCE?!?!” she snapped. Lightning flashed brightly above followed by a loud thunder clap. Uma ignored the way her heart felt like it was being stomped upon.

Barely a second passed before Ben broke out into laughter. Uma frowned, resisting the urge to stomp hard in the nearby muddy puddle and splash him. Instead she crossed her arms and demanded to know what was so funny.

“Sorry, sorry,” Ben apologized, a chuckle or two still escaping. “W-when Harry and I first met we were both really young and I had much longer hair,” he explained grin still wide on his face in nostalgia. “When our parents introduced us to each other, Harry apparently thought I was the prettiest girl he had ever seen and proposed to me right on the spot. When our parents had stopped laughing and explained that I was a boy he said just shrugged and said he would have a pretty boy as his husband then.”

Something in Uma’s chest twinged at the the thought of a little Harry, all wild, wind-swept dark hair and bright blue mischievous eyes taking a confused young prince’s hands in his and proclaiming his intent to marry.

“You know you just gave me perfect blackmail material against him,” Uma managed to smirk.

“And I hope you put it to good use,” Ben winked at her before his expression quickly sobered.

The rain around them seemed to lighten as Uma watched the little twitches his face made as he tried to make up his mind on whatever he was thinking. He was too easy to read, something that she realized she didn’t necessarily want to exploit at the moment.

“Listen Uma,” the prince sighed, looking at her with such an open and concerned expression she had to look away, fiddling with the sleeve of her rain and mud soaked jacket. “I know we haven’t had the chance to talk all that much but Harry never shuts up about you. Actually,” he chuckled slightly in thought, “I’ve never seen him like this with anyone else before.  He really cares about you and maybe I shouldn’t say this, but he looks at you like...well, like the way I expect a person does when they’ve found their true love.”

“Or maybe it’s just gas,” Uma hissed, suddenly feeling angry, pushing down the realization that she wanted his words to be true. She wasn’t some pretty pink princess. Who was this boy to tell her this? To play with her heart that had been broken and torn and stomped on so many times by crushing tentacles and purple heeled boots and give her something that she had long ago learned to abhor: hope.

The sky that had once seemed to have lighten quickly became dark again.

Ben shook his head. “I’m not lying to you. You’re-”

“I’m just a _good time_ , aren’t I?” Uma cut him off, moving away from underneath the protection of the umbrella to put some space between them, her glare not letting up even as rained rolled down from her hair to her skin. “Probably placed a bet with you and the rest of you uppity goody-doers.”

“Uma,” Ben said placing a gentle hand on her arm when she tried to move from underneath the umbrella. Though gentle, his eyes were hard and Uma was hit with realization that her sailor was cared for. People cared about Harry. The prince cared about Harry.

That realization made her both somber and jealous in a way that she had difficulty understanding.

“Harry cares a lot about you. Deeply. He wouldn’t have given you his mother’s necklace if that was case,” he nodded towards where he knew the necklace was hidden underneath her shirt.  “His younger sister, CJ, wouldn’t be hounding me for details about you if he wasn’t head over heels. I mean,” he shrugged, letting go of her arm and seeming to struggle to find the right words. “When I look at you both...it just...it just fits. Does that make sense? Like you two were made for each other.”

“You’re talking about true love aren’t ya?” Uma groaned, nose wrinkling in distaste. Love was looked down upon the Isle. Love made you foolish and stupid. That was one thing her mother did teach her. “That shit doesn’t exist.”

“How can you be so sure?” he said with such a gentle smile that it made Uma nauseous to realize that he was being completely genuine. “I’m...I’m actually really jealous of Harry,” Ben continued, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, eyes growing dim for just a moment. “I-I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who I wholeheartedly wanted to give the moon and stars for.”

“Not even with Princess Sleeping Snobby?” Uma found herself asking, somewhat surprised to find that she was genuinely curious about his response.

Ben sighed as if he was reminded of a great burden. “Maybe at one point I think I did,” he said smiling at her sadly, a far off look in his eye. “But I’m actually not sure anymore,” he sighed before ushering her back under his umbrella. “Sometimes, I feel like the person I’m searching for is only real in my dreams. I mean, I thought- I thought if…” He stopped shaking his head. “Nevermind,” he smiled not at all convincingly.

She wanted to ask more, not to exploit him but because she was actually genuinely curious. She noticed, however, like walking out of a fog, that rain was no longer falling around them. This time, they were now inside the boy’s dorm, rain continuing to fall as a light sprinkle outside.

“I figured we could ask Harry for some spare towels,” Ben grinned down at her, a hint of his previous mischievousness in his eyes before she could stop him from knocking on the door.

They both paused when the door was pushed open on its own. Ben paused, worry evident before suddenly pushing further inside, calling Harry’s name, Uma at his heels. She held back a curse though when she bumped into the prince’s back when he suddenly stopped.

When she peered around the prince, she immediately wished she hadn’t, knowing she would never get the image out of her head of Harry lying on the ground, deathly pale with a familiar yellow bandana clutched in his hand.

 

**_On the Isle, 10 years ago_ **

When they were six, when she jumped into the filthy water that surrounded the Isle after his brothers tied him up to the heaviest pieces of cement, she hadn't been trying to save him.

To be brutally honest, she didn't care one clam if one of the few _legitimate_ sons of Gaston drowned or not. There were plenty of Gaston bastards on the Isle to replace the littlest LeGume runt.

However, Mal had dared her to. (Instigated her. Taunted.) The half fae had guessed that the cement would pull the young boy to the deepest of the deep murky depths of the surrounding waters and stated that she didn't believe that Uma was big or strong enough to swim down and retrieve the boy, despite her mer-folk lineage.

“ _At least I know how to swim, Dragon Breath,”_ Ursula’s daughter had teased in that way that only close companions, friends, could. That way that had no real bite but underlining affection that was only still present in the youngest of the Isle before it was beaten out of them. (Neither of then realized how in four years that nickname would be said as a curse and with the force of a storm threatening to rage on the horizon...)

So Uma swam, barely breaking a sweat as she reached the water’s bottom where the youngest son’s of Gaston struggles were beginning to slow, gaze growing heavy, the amount of bubbles leaving his mouth diminishing.

For a moment, Uma thought about leaving him and just grabbing the silly yellow bandana he always covered his head with at least for proof that she actually did make it to the bottom of the water. Letting him drown would probably be the nicest thing she could do for the boy, anyway. After all, life on the Isle had no place for one so weak…

She was just about to swim away after grabbing his bandana when a slightly larger hand grasped her own. For a brief second as she looked back at the boy, their eyes met and something that Uma hadn’t realized was untied within her knotted.

 _Mine_ , was the only word she could put to the feeling that forced her to cut the ropes of the then once again unconscious boy before kicking her legs with a strength not common in a girl of her size until they broke the water surface.

And as she pulled Gil back to shore, seaweed stuck in her hair and Gil coughing up water along the way, Mal watched from the safety of dry land with narrowed eyes, clenched fists, and raging jealousy held within her tiny frame…

Mal rolled her eyes as she stepped back as Uma dragged the nearly drowned boy onto land, watching as the teal hair girl nearly glowed with smug satisfaction from the boy’s praise after he had the chance to cough up all the water.

Mal noticed the boy’s signature yellow bandana had been dropped on the wet sand at some point, forgotten by its owner. She picked it up, smiling wickedly to herself as she shoved it in her pocket for a later time.

 _“If you can’t take it,”_ she thought, continuing to watch as Uma pretended to hate the attention the Gaston boy was giving her. _“Break it…”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends. So...this chapter just didn't want to be written and I just never seemed happy with it. I'm still not completely but I knew that if I didn't get something out then it would probably never be updated. I hope things didn't feel too disconnected. 
> 
> Thank you as always though to everyone who commented, kudo, bookmarked, subscribed, etc. to this story. You all continue to motivate me. 
> 
> Anyway, somewhat good news. I'm essentially done with applying for PhDs and have been given two offers (yay!) so that's one less thing off my plate so hopefully I'll be able to update this story a bit sooner (no promises).
> 
> Anywho please let me know what you think about this chapter.
> 
> Until next time!


	5. Stand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three conversations. None of them fulfilling.

 

Gil tilted his head to the side, confused. “Shouldn’t you be there? With him?”

Uma huffed, pressing her forehead further against the cold hard bars of his prison cell, as if she could force her body to mold around the hard metal keeping her distant from her closest ally (her only friend). “I’m where I need to be,” she asserted firmly, aware of the guards that stood just mere feet away.

The _“I’m not leaving you. You never left me,”_ went unspoken but understood as Gil’s much larger hand reached through the bars and placed itself on her shoulder and giving it a meaningful squeeze.

(He didn’t comment on how he could feel her entire body trembling underneath his touch and her heart felt too big in her chest for this boy.)

“I didn’t hurt Harry, Uma,” Gil suddenly said earnestly, his grip on her shoulder tightening almost painfully but Uma didn’t shrug it off. Who knew when she would be able to see him again. “I swear.”

Uma bit her lip, placing both of her hands over his much larger one. She stared momentarily at the size difference. She felt small in more than one way.

“I know, sharkbait,” she sighed fondly, thinking of easier days where she taught him how to hold his breath longer underwater and he showed her where to find the few edible plants growing on the Isle. Her mind was whirling with a hundred million thoughts, many in regards to Gil and getting him out of this damn prison cell for a crime that she knew instantly that he didn’t commit and many more...many more of her thoughts were on a certain blue eyed sailor.

She hated the twisting feeling in her gut that even now, with Gil’s life on the line, her thoughts still swayed to ~~(her)~~ Harry.

“Is he going to be okay?” Gil guessed accurately to where her thoughts had led her. In his eyes all she could see was genuine concern for her. Not for the first time did Uma believe that Gil had been meant to be born somewhere off the Isle. Somewhere where he could have been just as good (or even better) than the Prince.

Thinking about Ben seemed to sour her mood even more though not because of the prince. Uma didn’t need to have grown up in Auradon to have known that even the prisons here didn’t have heated floors and comfy beds and food that actually tasted like something. And yet, Gil had been given all of this and more. If it wasn’t for the bars and the guards, it would have looked like just another dorm room here.

No, Ben surprisingly wasn’t the problem. The people around him were. Uma wouldn’t be surprised if Audrey or even Cinderella’s son, Chad Charming, had sent the guards that had suddenly appeared at the door of Harry’s room. Someone had known to send guards that pointed their swords and spears at her throat until Ben had shoved them away ordering them to stand down and get his best friend some medical attention. (The seconds it took for the ends of their pointed tips to finally be directed somewhere else other than at her throat felt long and sluggish, like trying to swallow her mother’s codfish surprise.)

By the time the guards that had surrounded her had put away their weapons, one of them that had moved over to feel for a pulse on the unconscious boy’s body and noticed the threadbare yellow bandana clutched in his hand.

It didn’t take long for the yellow bandana to be linked to Gil. For Fairy Godmother to find traces of magic on it and immediately make calls to Neverland. And though Gil was the one being held in prison, it didn’t take long for most of the school to have the seawitch’s daughter’s name on their lips. After all, Gil was the son of Gaston, a bullheaded, sexist huntsman; Uma was the daughter of Ursula, a name that still put fear in many sailor and land lover alike. Someone had to be the brains, and very few people considered Gil capable of that.

Still struggling to come up with a response, Uma was cut off when one of the guards stiffly announced that their time was up. Uma glared at the guard, irritated when he only raised a brow impatience radiating off of him.

She turned back to Gil, his expression bright and hopeful and so sure of everything, of _her,_ that she would make everything right. Faithful to Ursula’s unfortunate brat even to the end.

(She didn’t deserve his loyalty.)

“I’ll be back. And I _will_ get you out of here,” Uma vowed before the guard ushered her off.

“I know,” Gil whispered back more to himself, confident smile never slipping. He knew that she would always keep his promise to him.

Even if she had to make the whole world drown first.

\---

To be fair to her earlier conversation with Gil, she didn’t know how ( ~~her~~ ) Harry was doing. Except for Ben, whom she rarely saw usually, no one either knew or would tell her how ( ~~her~~ ) Harry was doing. All she had managed to snatch amongst the whispers down the hall of Auradon Prep was that his younger sister was the only one on her way to see him.

After an agonizingly long day of waiting and biding her time under the watchful eyes of both Fairy Godmother and Mal, Uma snuck from her dorm, across the sleeping campus, and down the long hall where the infirmary was, slipping easily through the unlocked doors.

“So you’re his Isle Dream Girl.”

Uma cursed herself, back still towards the room as she had been trying to silently close the door to what she had thought would be an empty infirmary.

Apparently she had thought wrong.

Knowing she was caught, Uma squared her shoulders as she turned around.

The room was dark, lit only by the moon’s soft light, casting everything in a pale blue tone. There were several made up empty beds with pristine white sheets that probably never saw an innocent child bleeding out on them. These beds had probably never seen a person waste away without proper food or water, sentenced to death due to a fever that just wouldn’t break without the proper medication that the Isle rarely had.

Though these infirmary beds hadn’t seen as much blood and death as Uma had seen on the Isle, they were witness to the unmoving figure of a certain unconscious sailor. ( ~~Her~~ Harry.  ~~Her~~ Harry.  ~~Her~~ Harry.)

Uma found her feet rooted to the spot by the door, unable to take her eyes from Harry’s unmoving form, praying to Poseidon that his eyes would just open. His face was smooth and neutral, an odd sight on the otherwise usually expressive features. The light of the moon bleached his skin a pale white, highlighting the dark circles under his closed eyes that had not been there the last time she had seen him. If it wasn’t for the slow but even rise and fall of his chest, Uma would have thought he was already dead.

“Geez. Gross. You’re just _as_ obsessed with him,” the voice jarred Uma out of her thoughts and brought her attention to the small blonde girl that set next to the bed. The tired but mischievous smirk on her face instantly gave away the girl’s identity (afterall, Uma had become quite familiar with the cheeky expression since arriving in Auradon). Somewhere in the back of her mind, Uma noticed the soft full leather gloves that covered CJ’s hands all the way up to her elbows.

“You’re CJ,” Uma hazard a guess, recalling Harry’s description of his younger sister. Bright. Expressive. Wild. 

“Oh!” the girl clapped excitedly. “You two _do_ do something other than suck face all day!”

Uma sputtered out a denial to the unexpected statement. (Her cheeks were not growing warm at the mental image of her lips on his. They were not!)

She watched CJ chuckle briefly at her expense before the sound died off, the girl looking sadly down at her brother when he didn’t respond with his usual fond but exasperated growl of “Cheeky fairy” or flustered pink cheeks. It somehow felt wrong to Uma for such a frank girl to be so somber. 

Ursula’s daughter found herself slowly making her way to the other side of the bed, hand itching to take ( ~~her)~~  Harry's. For his hand to lift hers up to his lips in a devoted kiss. Instead she crossed her arms resisting the urge in front of this girl that she only knew threw fond whispers on a gently rocking boat.

The room felt too quiet.

“I just wanted to see him,” Uma explained, feeling the need to say something. “No one would tell me…” she trailed off awkwardly, realizing that the younger girl’s intense gaze was on her. She looked away, unnerved by being so openly observed. “Ugh...I should go,” she quickly muttered already beginning to make her retreat when CJ spoke out to her.

“It’s a magic intolerance.”

Pausing, hand having just reached the infirmary’s door, Uma frowned, puzzled, as she turned around. CJ was no longer looking at her but was back to looking at her brother’s unconscious form, her gloved hand holding his limp one.

“That’s why he’s like this,” CJ clarified. “That’s why daddy sent him off to live with Ben and his family when we were younger. It’s rare and places and people that have strong concentration of magic, like Neverland, always make him feel really tired, disoriented, and out of control.” Chuckling tiredly, CJ got out of her seat, gently placing his hand back by his side before leaning against the side of a nearby window, looking out unseeingly. “He described it like going mad or being lost in an endless sea without a compass.”

Uma frown deepened. “He never told me.”

CJ snorted, looking at her from the corner of her eye before glancing back at the window. “Of course he wouldn’t. Prideful lad, my thick headed brother is.”

Chuckling awkwardly, Uma allowed herself to return back to ( _her_ ) Harry’s bed side, this time allowing her hand to reach out for his, her thumb rubbing soothing circles against his knuckles. (For a second, she had tricked herself into believing that his fingers had given the barest of twitches in her hand but that must have just been wishful thinking.)

 _Wake up_ , she pleaded with him silently.

CJ had observed the familiarity to which this girl took her brother’s hand with an air of curiosity and slight surprise, as if she had expected something different. “You’ve never seen him like this, have you?”

“No,” Uma shook her head, using her other hand to swipe hair from his face, fingertips lingering over the sharp lines of his cheekbones. “I think this is the most still I’ve ever seen him.”

“That bandanna that he was holding must have had an impressive amount of magic packed into it.”

Uma looked up at her. “Do you...Does anyone know what it was for? Or who sent it?”

CJ was silent for a second before answering with a “No. All Fairy Godmother told me was that it was messily done. If it had done what it was intended to do, I think we would have met over a hole in a ground,” she chuckled humorlessly. “Not this bed. So thank the Second Star for small miracles, I guess.”

As one used to seeing so much death, Uma didn’t know how to respond in a way that wouldn’t feel like she was fucking things up.

The room filled with silence once again.

“It wasn’t you,” CJ suddenly said after a few minutes.

This time Uma snorted. “What? You don’t think that the evil sea-witch’s daughter had the guts to do this? Not evil enough for you?” she asked with a bitter laugh, the haunting memory of “Shrimpy” clinging to her like a cumbersome veil.

CJ spun quickly from her spot by the window, moving with such swiftness that was surprising even for a girl of her small stature. “I could give two ticking crocodiles whether you’re evil or not,” CJ hissed invading Uma’s space. “What I care about is whether my brother will wake up and if an evil sea-witch’s daughter is what it takes to make that happen then so be it!”

Uma let go of Harry’s hand. “All of my potions are fake. They don’t work.”

Stomping her foot, face red, CJ said something that came out like the chiming of small bells. Taking a deep breath, CJ unconsciously tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, revealing its pointed tip. Uma did everything in her power to keep her face neutral; knew that Harry and his sisters had different mothers and that it wasn't unusual for a fairy and a human to have children but it was still jarring to see a half-fairy that didn’t have purple hair and a perpetually scowling expression directed towards her.

“You may not know how to use it but you do have magic. Strong magic,” the blonde said slowly as if she was choosing her words carefully. “If you didn’t,” she said turning to Harry and pushing down the collar of the light blue hospital gown that he wore revealing Ursula’s necklace glowing a faint gold as it was revealed.

Uma gasped, her free hand unconsciously reaching out to touch the glowing shell.

“Fairy Godmother didn’t recognize it and it’s so old and worn that anyone not from Neverland would just assume it’s a Never-shell. But I knew this wasn’t the necklace that belonged to Harry’s mother.” CJ withdrew her hand, tucking the collar back over the shell where it still glowed faintly under it before fading, dormant once again. “And it felt too much like it was imbued with love for it to have been cursed.” She glanced up at Uma knowingly, taking in her wide startled eyes. “It didn’t take me too long to put the pieces together on who gave it to him. But that type of magic isn’t what I want,” the blonde sighed taking in Uma’s stunned expression as she continued to take everything in. “What I want from you is more along the lines of true love’s kiss.”

It took Uma a few seconds to realize the source of the sudden laughter in the room was coming from her.

“That doesn’t exist,” she shook her head, braids swaying.

CJ frowned, one hand on a cocked hip. “Um, hello? Snow White ring any bells? Sleeping Beauty?”

“It doesn’t exist for villains,” Uma corrected, defensive, building up walls, tall and strong so that the hope of someone actually loving her, that ( ~~her~~ ) Harry actually loved her, didn’t even get a chance of taking root.

“Uma-” CJ began but Uma cut her off with a violent shake of her head.

“I should go,” she said quickly making her way to the door.

“UMA!”

She paused at the door but didn’t turn around. “I hope your brother wakes up,” she said softly before slipping out the door.

 

\---

“I’ll do my best to make sure Gil’s well taken care of,” Ben promised Uma the next day. He had caught her on her way out, trying to escape from Evie’s pitying stares, Carlos’s cooing over his new mutt to calm his anxiety down, the nervous twitches of Jay’s hands needing something to steal, and Mal’s brooding quietness.

The half-fae had barely said a word when the news that the son of Gaston had given Harry “Hook” Jones a magical object that had overwhelmed him into unconsciousness. No one who had ever met the lovable oaf actually thought he had been the mastermind behind the object but with several Isle-born children now at Auradon, Fairy Godmother couldn’t take any chances. In any other circumstance, Mal would have bitten off Uma’s head for Gil bringing the microscope they were already under closer on them. And if what CJ had said the other night was true, if it wasn’t for the fact that even Jay seemed genuinely surprised about the news about Harry, Uma would have thought Mal had set her up.

Mal did have a history of stabbing her in the back for no other reason other than she could.

Ben shifted awkwardly in front of Uma opening his mouth and saying “CJ told me-” he started before thinking better about it and switching topics. “Once my coronation occurs next week,” Ben continued, “and Fairy Godmother crowns and blesses me as King, I can pardon Gil and he’ll be released and we’ll start the search for the real culprit.”

“Blessings?” Mal’s suddenly questioned, right at Uma's shoulder nearly causing her to jump out of her skin.

It took everything in Uma to not throw up at the way that Ben’s expression grew excited at Mal’s apparent interest in something he was saying. After all, Mal had a bad habit of trying to put as much space between her and the foolish naive prince. Uma found it strange and tucked the observation in the back of her mind to think about later.

“Yes!” Ben nodded enthusiastically. “Once I’m crowned, Fairy Godmother blesses me with her wand. You’re invited of course,” he smiled dopely before quickly glancing back at Uma, Evie, Jay, and Carlos, amending, “You all are. The entire school will be there.”

Just as Evie squealed about needing to get started on their outfits and Uma was prepared to decline her own invite, Mal not so gently shoved her to the side a sugary fake smile twisting its way onto her face.

“Wow!” Mal exclaimed, her tone going a tad high in its poorly veiled mockery of any of the Auradon princesses. Uma couldn’t believe it when Ben’s smile merely grew brighter. “That is beyond exciting. Do you think that it's a possibility that we could stand in the front row next to the Fairy Godmother? Just so we could soak up all that goodness?”

Ben’s face fell.

“I wish you could,” he started. “Up front it's just me, my folks, and my girlfriend.”

The gears were already turning in Mal’s brain before she gave the prince a hasty goodbye, shutting the door promptly in his face.

“I need a love spell,” Mal declared as soon as the door locked.

Uma blinked slowly, wondering if anyone else was going to point it out to Mal just how stupid putting a love spell on the prince would be when they were already under so much scrutiny. When no one did, Uma felt her jaw open and shut in disbelief.

 _Seriously?_ , she thought. How can any of them think this will be a good idea? She held her tongue though. It would be really stupid to put a target on her back when Mal had already been acting so strange and unpredictable lately, like a cornered wild animal.

“You’ll be helping me and E make it, Shrimpy,” Mal said with a resigned tone, as if she was being forced to swallow broken glass.

“Wait,” Uma snapped into attention. “What? I don’t have magic. I couldn’t use any of your spells from your book, remember?”

Sighing, Mal crossed the room and leaned against her bedpost, arms crossed. She worried at her bottom lip slightly, a sign that Uma subconsciously remembered meant she was stressed and trying to figure out a plan as she went.

“Because” the half-fae began, pointing to Uma before continuing on as if she was speaking to a child, “You’re a sea-witch. Your magic is potions based.”

Uma had to stop herself from revealing that she had been making potions since arriving in Auradon and none of them did anything other than settle bad stomach aches.

“Really? I thought it was just because I wasn’t a spoiled brat,” Uma mimicked Mal’s condescending tone, arms crossed, feeling Carlos’s and Evie’s stunned gazes and Jay’s amused stare.

Uma always hated Mal, ever since her betrayal but she had always let her anger simmer just beneath the skin, careful of her words around the other girl in fear that what little she had would be taken from her just like her name had been. Perhaps it was because she realized that she truly had nothing to lose at this point that years worth of pent up aggression suddenly fueled her bravery. (Or stupidity. The jury was still out on which it actually was.)

“Listen,” Uma continued. “I’m just trying to figure out if being in Auradon with all of its sunlight and rainbows and pretty pink princesses has finally fried the last of your damn brain cells. Doing a love spell on Ben when all this shit with Gil and Har- that Hook kid,” (she ignored the way her stomach flopped at the thought of  her friend and the blue eyed sailor), “is going to work just as well as it did when our parents used them. Look where they ended up. Where **we** ended up because of them! Growing up on a literal garbage dump!”

“We’re better than our parents!” Mal fumed pushing away from the bed post and it brought Uma great pleasure to see the girl’s usually cool facade break when confronted for once in her life. She wanted Mal mad. She wanted Mal to feel small and insignificant just like Mal had made her feel for the past six years.

“Then why are you still standing in mommy’s shadow, Mal? Afraid you’re not big or bad enough?” Uma hissed, using words that Mal had thrown at her so many times before. “You poor. Unfortunate. Soul.”

Mal clamped her mouth shut, eyes glowing an ominous green. In the past, Uma’s self-preservation would have had her stand down long before now. At the moment, something deep inside of her would not allow having this little lizard breath momma’s girl fuck things up more than they already were.

“Ladies. Ladies. Don’t we all want the same thing?” Jay tried to step in to dispel the tension but was silenced when Mal pushed him away, eyes still locked on Uma. Evie made a move to cut in as well but Carlos grabbed her arm, pushing her behind him as Jay shifted in front of the younger boy.

“Oh, I’m so silly! How did I not see it?” Mal suddenly smiled sweetly with a role of her eyes, stepping closer. Uma tensed with each step. “Guys,” she briefly looked over her shoulder at the others. “This is so adorable!” she gushed turning back to Uma. “Did the little freaky misfit sea monster fall in love with the Prince?” she cooed before snapping her fingers, her smile growing into a cruel grin. “No, that’s not right. It’s the devilishly handsome sailor boy, isn’t it? Tell me, are the only ways you can keep a guy around you is for them to be as dumb as bricks like Gil or to put them into a magical coma like your little sailor so he can’t run away from the ugly little sea urchin you are, Shrimpy?”

Uma’s nails bit into the palm of her hand as she felt something inside of her stir slightly, like waves crashing against violently against each other, threatening to tear apart anything in their path.

“No. Not at all,” Uma said evenly despite the storm that was beginning to brew within her. “I just don’t like taking away someone’s consent and forcing them to love me. After all,” she said with a sickenly sweet smile of her own that made Mal falter. (Afterall, despite how Mal liked to deny it, once upon a time, they had once been friends and shared all their deep secrets. Uma knew that and Mal seemed to suddenly remember that too), “we’ve all seen the product of a love potion gone wrong,” Uma said looking intentionally at Mal, the other girl having gone deathly pale.

All of the air seemed to be sucked out of the room.

“Get out.” Mal said quietly.

“No,” Uma growled back

“GET OUT!” Maleficent’s daughter roared, eyes flashing a threatening green.

Uma would hate to admit it, but there was only so much standing up she could do before years of self preservation instincts took over.

So, she ran and didn’t look back...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone. Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I'm still not totally satisfied with it. It felt weird trying to get back into the swing of writing this story, even after on a few months. I might actually come back later to edit it a bit more but we'll see.
> 
> I hope everything made sense. I will admit that the last scene came from an early version of a previous chapter but I kind of liked it so wanted to work it in somewhere.
> 
> As always, I would love to know what you think so please feel free to comment or find me on Tumblr as edream93.


	6. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a line is drawn...

She felt exhilarated.

She felt like she was riding the crest of a wave.

It was such a rush...until it all crashed. And then she realized… Mal was literally and figuratively going to destroy her.

_Fuck._

Uma had poked the dragon in her most sensitive and secretest of places. (The subject of her father and conception had always been a touchy subject for the half-fae.) It wouldn’t be long before she felt the heat of consequences for that deliberate verbal slip.

 _“Seven Seas. I’m as good as fish bait”,_ the sea witch’s daughter thought as she put as much distance between her and Mal’s fury.

Going back to her dorm any time soon was not an option so Uma snuck quietly into the library, curling up in a rarely visited corner of the library, ignoring the bell for the start of dinner followed soon after for the curfew warning bell. Ignoring the way her entire body trembled.

She spent a sleepless night in that corner, jumping at every little sound, wondering if the echoing footsteps of the janitor cleaning the hallway outside was Mal’s with damning glowing green eyes and a spell on her lips.

When morning came, Uma - tired and weary - finally dared to sneak out before the librarian arrived. She avoided the dorms despite the fact that she was wearing the exact same clothes from the day before and that most of her things were there as well.

Whatever. She would ditch the Tourney game and see if she could convince whatever guard that was staring holes into the wall to let her stay with Gil even though it wasn’t visiting hours.

Constantly looking over her shoulder, Uma headed to her locker, hoping that maybe she had left one of Gil’s old and worn jackets forgotten in there. It would be long enough to hide the fact that she was wearing yesterday’s clothes. (And Gil’s familiar “boy scent” would hopefully help ground her; help remind her that pissing off Mal didn’t just mean a target on her back.)

When she opened the locker, she was surprised when she found a small bag of clothes inside that hadn’t been there yesterday after class. None of it looked familiar but all the items were in her size and color.

 _“Thought you might need these,”_ was all the note on top said but feeling the rich texture and neatly done stitches Uma had a guess who they might be from.

Too tired to even question the motive behind the Evil Queen’s daughter’s gift, Uma quickly found a bathroom and changed, only stepping out when she was wearing soft golden brown leather pants tucked into her boots, a black mesh shirt and the teal jacket with gold stitched starfish and shells and crashing waves that Evie had tried to give her as a peace offering when they had first arrived in Auradon.

Uma tugged on the jacket self consciously. She was mostly used to Gil’s old hand me downs or just whatever she could find. These clothes...were actually nice, reminding her of what she imagined the fearsome female pirate captains would wear from the stories the drunk pirates would tell her and Gil when there was nothing else to do.  

For a brief, indulgent moment, Uma pretended she was one of those female pirate captains with her own first mate and crew, free to sail the seas as far as the winds would take her...

“There you are,” a voice hissed before Jay’s heavy arm was slung around her shoulders. “Don’t say a word,” he growled pulling her tightly to his side before she could even think about getting away. “Just follow along and I might just be able to get Mal from not killing you,” he ordered before forcibly tugging her along back to the lockers where Mal was standing in front of Ben, Evie and Carlos watching nearby.

When they got closer, Uma could see that Mal was holding a bag with a single cookie in it and instantly she knew it was laced with a love spell.

Damnit. So this was actually going down.

“She’s doing it,” Uma huffed in slight disbelief.

“We all have to do what we have to do,” Jay responded just as Mal was guilt tripping Ben to take the cookie. “Our parents are expecting us to succeed.”

Uma bit her lip to hold back a very posibly damning retort.

Maybe it was because the same boiling anger that had been churning under her skin like a storm from yesterday still not had dispersed. Maybe she was just fed up with Mal. Maybe it was the fact that she knew that even if they did get the stupid wand, her mother still wouldn’t be pleased with her. Or maybe it was Ben. How she knew that he was balancing school, Tourney, and the responsibilities of a soon-to-be king and yet...he still visited Gil, making sure her friend was as comfortable as one could be as a prisoner. How she knew that that this was arguably one of the most important people to Harry and if she couldn’t save ~~(her)~~ Harry the least she could do was save the boy who was like a brother to him from the five foot purple lizard in heels.

Whatever was the motivation, her body moved instantly.

Jay must not have expected her to be much of a struggle because it was easy for her to slip out of his loose grip and dash towards Mal and the unsuspecting prince. And as she let out a hiss as her side collided hard and loud against the lockers, right between Mal and Ben, she missed the glazed look that momentarily covered Ben’s eyes just as he bit into the cookie.

Uma didn’t even have time to see if she had arrived in time because she let out a pained grunt, a sharp tug on her braids that caused her head to painfully snap backwards to the point that she was looking at Mal’s sneering expression and flashing green eyes upside down.

“You _conniving_ little-!” she growled out, ready to slam Ursula’s daughter head against the lockers.

“Mal!” Jay hissed, grabbing her wrist so roughly that she released Uma’s hair, the shift in momentum sending Uma crashing straight into Ben.

“Are you okay?” Ben asked and it seemed like both Uma and Mal held their breath as Uma gently pushed herself away from the prince.

“Uh, how you feeling, bro?” Jay asked, observing Ben.

The prince smiled and Uma felt her stomach twist unpleasantly, the half eaten granola bar that she had found in her pocket threatening to make a reappearance.

“I-I feel...I feel...I feel like...Like singing your name,” Ben smiled adoringly, eyes never leaving Uma.

Fuck.

 

\---

Mal had stomped off in a rage and Jay and Carlos had dragged the lovestruck Ben away and to the Tourney field for the game. That left only Evie to watch as Uma paced back and forth in one of the empty classroom.

Cheers from the field were easily heard, even from the main building. Only days ago, Uma had thought she might have been there, in the bleachers mostly there to support Gil, but also silently cheering on a certain sailor, clutching tightly on to the necklace shell he had exchanged with her along with a promise that he would tell her something very important once they won the game.

 _“Never-shells are for protecting,”_ she remembered him telling her as she nervously rubbed her thumb over the smooth surface. _“I doubt it can protect me from this mess,”_ she thought.

Evie sighed loudly, startling Uma out of her thoughts. The other girl was sitting at a desk, looking down at the mirror the Evil Queen have given her. “Looks like Mal went to the art room to smash some pottery,” she informed, putting the mirror away before looking up at Uma, frowning. “She’s pissed.”

“Really?” Uma gasped in mock shock. “I never would have guessed. What gave it away? Her nearly being one step away from breathing fire at me?”

“What were you thinking Uma?” Evie sighed, rubbing her temples. “Now your the object of Ben’s affection because of the love spell. Do you want Mal to ruin you?”

Uma chuckled humorlessly, nervously playing with the ends of one of her braids. “She already has.”

The room became silent except for the clipped sounds of Uma’s boots as she paced, unaware as Evie watched her with a thoughtful expression.

“It was Mal, you know.”

Uma paused. “What?” she furrowed her brow, turning to look at the girl.

Evie looked uncomfortable under her stare, shifting in her seat, painted red lips pursing in thought as she tried to formulate her words. “It was Mal,” she repeatedly. “She’s the one who framed Gil...and made Harry…” Evie bit her lip. “She didn’t tell me but...I think it’s obvious.”

Uma had her suspicions. Wasn’t surprised really at all that yet again Maleficent's spawn had tried to take away the few drifting bits of happiness she had in her garbage pile of a life. But still, having it verbalized, spoken out loud, especially by someone she had always assumed was nothing more than a vapid pretty face, caused Uma to stumble into the chair next to Evie.

Uma gripped the edges of the edge of the desk tightly to try and stop her hands from shaking, ignoring Evie’s gaze on her.

“Why?”

“I think you know why.”

“No,” Uma turned, glaring at the other girl. “I really don’t. Other than the fact that she’s a spoiled bitch clinging on to Mommy’s robes.”

Evie frowned as if she was surprised Uma didn’t understand something. “It’s because she loves you, Uma.”

The laughter that bubbled from Uma’s mouth was harsh, biting, and a bit crazed (a chilling realization was that it reminded her a lot of her mother’s).

Mal? In love? With her?

It was so fucking ridiculous and cruel, even after all she experienced on the Isle. Bile threatened to rise to her throat.

She stopped her crazed laughter suddenly, standing up before flipping the desk that she was sitting at with a rage filled shout. Evie jumped at the loud crashing noise, remaining in her seat. She tensed but remained where she sat when Uma slammed her hands down on her desk, leaning forward so close to the other girl that she could almost see the freckles that Evie always tried to hide under layers of makeup.

“The shit that Mal has done to me,” the teal haired girl said in a voice that was dangerously calm. She shook her head, disgust filling her features. “That ain’t love, princess. Not even for us!”

Despite the fury that rolled off of Uma in waves, Evie still dared to ask, a knowing glint in her eye, “And what do you know about love? Have you felt it for someone before?”

Uma pulled away, as if she had been slapped, trying not to think about sailing and black lined blue eyes. Evie took the moment to stand, straightening out her outfit.

“Look,” Evie began. “I’m not here to fight with you-”

“Like you could,” Uma sniffed moving to look out of the window. Growing up with Gil meant growing up learning how to fight off his meatheaded brothers.

“- _but,”_ Evie continued, “Things are getting messy. You were right about the love potion and it’s only a matter of time before people start doing more than pointing fingers at you. Harry’s curse and Ben’s sudden infatuation with you won’t look like a coincidence when it’ll be so easy to place the blame on the daughter of one of Auradon’s wickedest nightmares.”

“I’m an easy scapegoat,” Uma deflated, the raging seas underneath her skin finally seeming to still with weariness and hopelessness. “Guilty until proven guilty.”

“Right,” Evie nodded carefully moving closer to her. “That’s why I’m going to help you get Gil out of prison.”

Uma shook her head. “I’m sorry. I think I misheard-”

“You didn’t” Evie cut her off, the pretty princess with dreams of a prince and castle replaced with a sharp eyed girl, plans twisting and unfolding behind deceptively pretty brown eyes. (How the seven seas did Uma ever think she was some dim witted airhead?) “Carlos has already hacked into the cell’s security and I made knockout gas for the guards. And according to the last time Jay counted your hidden stash - don’t give me that look, even Gil’s smelly boot isn’t deterrent enough for Jay not to go snooping around -  you should definitely have enough money for two tickets to somewhere far _far_ away where it’ll be easy to stay under the radar, even when we get the wands and let the barrier down.”

“You’re...you’re serious, aren’t you?” Uma murmured in awe, slumping down into the seat that Evie had vacated. “Why?”

Evie lets out a puff of air, a poor attempt at hiding a laugh. “You weren’t the only one Mal made life miserable for on the Isle,” she answered sadly before her trademark flirty smirk appeared on her perfectly painted face. “Now, no more questions. Meet me outside of the dorms after curfew. Make sure you have everything you and Gil will need,” she said as she strutted towards the classroom door, Uma still sitting dumbfounded behind her. “And Uma?” Evie paused, turning slightly, most of her body already out of the door. Her face briefly softened as she softly urged, “Make sure to say goodbye to your sailor before you leave. It might be your last chance.”

And then she was gone, leaving the girl she left behind to even wonder if any of it had been real.

Uma spent hours in the empty classroom, avoiding Ben and his love potion induced declarations of love; avoiding a fuming Audrey (apparently Ben had broken up with the girl in a very embarrassing and _public_ display at the end of the game); and most importantly avoiding Mal, Evie’s words of a twisted thing that wasn’t love playing like a broken record.

It was only when the sky outside became dark and most of the students were either in the dining hall or their rooms that Uma found herself climbing through an open window of the school’s infirmary after she was confident that the coast was clear. (After the strange turn this day had taken, she didn’t think she could deal with another interaction with CJ.)

Harry still looked pale and unresponsive and not like ~~(her)~~ Harry.

“I’m sorry, Harry,” she sighed softly to him as she sat on the side of his bed. “This…” she sighed again, taking his hand in hers. “You didn’t deserve this. This...this had nothing to do with you.”

Perhaps it was because this was already “The Day of Uma’s Fucking Bad Decisions”.  Perhaps it was because she has been up for over twenty-four hours now and stupid decisions like pissing off spoiled purple dragons or listening to blonde half-fairies with pointy ears that talked about true love’s kiss actually began to make sense. Or even perhaps it was because she was tired of not getting what she wanted and knowing that if Evie wasn’t planning to backstab her, if she was actually able to help Uma break Gil out of prison, there was no chance that she would actually get to see this silly sailor boy with enchanting blue eyes and a crooked smile full of mischief ever again, sleeping curse or not.

Honestly, Uma would never be able to give a definite reason. However, at the moment, she didn’t care.

She just leaned forward, one calloused hand holding his close to her heart, the other softly cupping his cheek.

And then, she kissed him...

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...and **_her_** sailor kissed her back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Sorry for taking so long to update. A lot of stuff has happened since the last update. This chapter wasn't originally what I had planned and I had to take out some things but I think overall I'm happier with this version of the chapter than the original chapter I had planned. Also, check out the song "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" by XYLO. I think it fits this chapter a bit. 
> 
> As always, thank you for the comments, kudos, bookmarks, subscriptions, etc. I always appreciate them and your support. I hope you are all continuing to enjoy this story.
> 
> I can't say for sure, but there might be only two more chapters left in this story, but we'll see. 
> 
> Anyway, let me know what you think?


	7. What Is Love?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Harry is guided by two queens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to dxscxndxnts on Tumblr or jojo_sain here on AO3 or Josain Chennuth on FF.net for helping me through a writer's block.

_When Harry was younger, when he had first moved to live with the King and Queen of Auradon and their young son because Neverland’s magic was just too potent for the young sailor’s intolerance, Queen Belle would sit in her plain but comfortable reading chair, feet tucked underneath her comfortably and a book in her lap as she read enthusiastically out loud to the eagerly listening young boys._

_Ben’s favorite stories always included forgiveness and second chances, the story of his parents’ being his favorite while Harry’s favorites always included adventures and treasures and sailing, his father’s story, not surprisingly, his own personal favorite._

_However, neither boy seemed to really like the stories of princesses under sleeping spells saved by true love’s kiss._

_“Why a kiss?” Ben would frown quietly, small face confused._

_“It’s so boring!” Harry would moan loudly, flopping himself dramatically on his stomach across the queen’s lap without hesitation while Ben would sit on the arm of his mother’s chair, leaning against her side. “It’s not revenge! I bet Ms. Aurora and Ms. Snow didn’t even realize days had passed while they were just snoring away. Shouldn’t a villain’s revenge be painful?” he asked, calling up the story of how his father lost his hand by the wicked Peter Pan or how King Adam had been stabbed by the loathsome huntsman Gaston._

_Belle fondly patted both boy’s heads, lightly removing Harry from her lap and onto his feet on the floor before guiding Ben down as well, both boys standing before her, waiting for her response._

_“Sometimes,” she said carefully, “the most painful revenge a villain can ever do is not something done to you but watching as those around you are hurt and your unable to do anything about it. That lost of control can be very scary especially when someone you love is in danger and you feel like you can’t do anything about it.”_

_Ben looked thoughtful, mulling over his mother’s words while Harry still looked confused as he squirmed to stand still at Belle’s feet like Cogsworth and Lumiere had to constantly remind him to. (“You may not be royalty, Master Harry, but you carry on your shoulders your father’s and your mother’s legacy. You must look the part of the future Hand of the King,” Cogsworth had lectured him just earlier that day.)_

_“I don’t get it,” Ben said truthfully._

_Standing up and taking both boys’ hands in her own, Belle led them back to their room. “Well hopefully you’ll never have to experience that, my dears,” she smiled down warmly at them both confident that neither of them would have to experience something like that in this time of peace…_

 

_\---_

It was a strange feeling. The fog that had kept him trapped in his mind had both departed and grown until it threatened to overwhelm him out of existence…

It was thick and heavy and it felt like even his thoughts were being smothered.

Then, the fog cleared and Harry was in a moldy dim lighted room, filled with equally moldy looking tables. And though he wasn’t sure how he could smell in a dream, the pungent smell of rotten fish and mildew nearly made him vomit, dream or not.

But in the middle of all of it - like a lighthouse in a storm - was Uma.

Or at least, a version of Uma.

(Not _his_ Uma.)

She was just as beautiful as the Uma he knew, breathtaking as she danced with sharp, precise, powerful movements, a group of teenagers, all dressed in worn pirate clothing surrounding her.

She commanded the space around her. Fluid. Unyielding. Fierce.  

When she was lifted into the air, sitting on a throne decorated in coral and starfish he found his heart trip over itself, the confident and assured grin proudly etched on her face that he had ever only seen on rare occasions on _his_ Uma’s face.

So caught up in this pirate queen’s presence (because there was no other title he could call this _not his_ Uma), Harry barely realized that his body was moving on it’s own, moving in time to a rhythm that seemed to inspire them all, motivated by this enchanting queen’s presence. The crew (her crew, no, _their_ crew) placed this Uma and her throne in front of a makeshift stage and her dark beautiful brown eyes turned expectedly onto him to play his role.

It was an out of body experience. The crew surrounded him, hyping him up as his body moved, hips swaying in a drunken manner as he made his way down the stage. His lips parted in praise of the queen before him, a pleased look (and something else that made him want to put a little extra sway in his hip rolls) shining brightly on her face. He hopped down from the stage, kneeling before her as he took her hand to help her stand on her throne.

Everyone else looked away as her presence seemed to shine brighter but Harry’s eyes were always trained on her even when she was lifted away from him to dance on another table. He wanted to follow her but Gil was stuck staring confused in the middle of all the movement.

“Get over there!” Harry heard himself growl at the blonde, pointing with an odd silver hook that he had been holding towards where the others were moving. He felt guilty for treating the friendly blonde so roughly even if he didn’t have control over his actions but that was only for a few seconds before his body moved him back on stage, standing next to the enchanting teal haired queen. She was facing away from him but suddenly turned towards him, pinky wrapping around the hook that he held easily as if she knew without a doubt he would be right behind her. Always.

It was such a simple gesture, but it meant so much to the two of them. Only them. Their little secret promise to each other.

_(We’re in this together,”_ her eyes said.)

“Hook me!” she laughed, grin filled with confidence, mischief, and something else that he knew was just for him that made his heart swell so much that it almost hurt. It reminded him of _his_ Uma, how when he had first saw her, he knew that in whatever life they were in together, he would follow her to the end of the world and beyond.

The movement around them seemed to pause, the crew and the grimy restaurant fading away until it was just the two of them surrounded by nothingness. The pirate queen turned around to face him fully, her pinky still intertwined with the hook that he held.

“You gotta go back to her, Harry,” she murmured tugging him gently closer to her with her pinky.

He blinked and for a moment, she looked older...wiser...the queenly aurora around her shining even brighter. A glimpse of what could be. Of what was, somewhere else in a different world. She radiated confidence and mischief...and so much hardwon and rightly deserved love.

“She needs you just as much as you need her. Like _I_ always need you,” this queen said as she tilted her head up invitingly. “In this world-”

“-and the next,” Harry finished before capturing her lips in his, a slow but electrifying kiss that ended all too soon when she pulled away with a gasp.

Harry groaned, opening his eyes only to have to blink several times for his eyes to adjust to the sudden bright light as well as his bodies stiff limbs.

He was awake. _True love’s kiss_ , the queen’s voice laugh faded along with his memory of her until all that was left was flashing foggy images of a dream almost, but not quite forgotten.

While Harry’s eyes were adjusting and feeling was working its way back up his body, Uma felt her breath snatched from her lungs, the world around focused and centered on the dazed but bright blue eyes that she had prayed to every god she could think of, even Poseidon, to see again.

“Y-you’re...you’re awake,” she managed to choke out, forcing herself back into the chair that sat next to his bed.

“And awoken in the best way possible,” Harry hummed, voice deep with sleep. A wide grin forming on his face as he took in the way her cheeks darkened, both of them very aware of what had just happened. Of the implications and possibilities that such a simple thing like a kiss could mean in this situation. “Ye took your time though, lass.”

The corners of her lips twitched upwards, her stomach suddenly filled with weird fluttering that wasn’t all that uncomfortable.

Uma had never realized how much she had missed his voice until now.

_‘He’s awake,’_ she thought in a moment of relief.

‘ _He’s_ **awake** _,’_ she thought again in a moment of dread.

He, a hero, had been under a sleeping curse.

She, a villain, had been the one to break the curse with a kiss.

_Fuck._

She didn’t realize she was struggling to breathe, only taking shallow breaths until she felt a tug that pulled her back on the bed, Harry’s warm and anchoring hand on her back and his voice in her ear directing her to breath as he pulled her onto his lap.

“That’s my girl,” Harry praised when she was taking deeper breaths. (Uma would never speak about how being called _his_ made her heart feel like it wanted to do a cartwheel out of her chest and into his hands. It was such a sickeningly sweet image to imagine.)

“I-I should go get someone,” Uma began trying to move out of his grasp, a desire to flee, a desire to run away from the one thing that she had always been taught to believe was a weakness. This couldn’t be real, right? It was a fluke. A cruel twisted sour cherry on top of the rotten shrimp smelling sundae that was her life.

“NO!” Harry growled suddenly, grabbing her firmly around her waist. The movement was unexpected, causing Uma to fall back so she was half sprawled over him. Harry let out a breath when her elbow accidentally dug into his side but grinned down cheekily at her surprised expression. “Hi,” was all he could think to say, easily getting distracted by her lovely brown eyes.

“Hi?” Uma snapped in disbelief, still half on him. “I-is that all you have to say? We- I-I-I kissed you and now you’re, you’re awake! And…”

“And now we’re here,” Harry reassured, using their closeness to press a quick kiss to her forehead, another one to the tip of her nose, before a lingering one just a the corner of her mouth before pulling away, taking in her stunned expression and the way that her tongue ran over her lips unconsciously. (She both hated and maybe not so much hated these warm and _safe_ feelings he gave her with even the simplest of gestures. Was she that much touch starved?) “Together. That’s all,” he said interlacing his fingers of one hand with hers, placing them over his heart like she had done earlier. “Don’t overthink it, darling. It’s just you and me. Whatever pace you want to set.”

Ursula’s daughter bit her lip.

“We don’t...I mean,” Uma sighed annoyed that words were failing her.

She pushed back from him so that she was sitting fully up, her hand still interlaced with his. Harry shifted slightly so his back was propped up against his pillows, patiently drawing small circles on the back of her hand before she continued. The repetitive movement seemed to be enough to ground her as she collected her thoughts

“Love,” Uma eventually managed to get out, her tongue feeling strange around the word, “I don’t know what that is. But I do know fear. My mother. Mal…,” she growled out the last name, taking in the way that Harry tensed at the name, confirming Evie’s earlier suspicion that the half-fae was behind his current predicament. “They made sure I knew it well,” she sighed, falling deep into her thoughts until Harry squeezed her hand, bringing her back to the present with him.

“Mal came to my room,” Harry shared after a moment. “Wanted to make a deal.”

“What sort of a deal?” Uma frown deepened.

Harry laughed humorlessly, bringing up their intertwined hands up to his lips. Uma pretended like always that it didn’t have any effect on her but she was sure he could probably hear how loudly her heart was beating in her ears.

“She wanted me to break yer heart. Promised that if I did, she would make it worth my while.” He made eye contact with her, never breaking eye contact with her as he said, “I told her she could shove her deal up her ass. Why take some dark fae’s promise when I have a goddess’s blessing,” he said pulling out the necklace that was tucked underneath his shirt. The magic shell necklace seemed to hummed happily as his touch before it became silent once again.

“I’m not a goddess,” Uma mumbled turning her face away, to hide how much it was burning.

Her face was turned back to face his, the fingers of his free hand tracing her jaw softly. “I beg to differ,” he looked at her reverently.   

Uma coughed, embarrassed though it didn’t feel like it did when Mal had threw that bucket of shrimp on her.

She turned her attention to their connected hands, noticing not for the first time how small hers looked compared to his, how they fit so easily together…But then she remembered why she had initially came here. That this was supposed to be a goodbye. That this - whatever this was with it’s fluttering warm feelings that made her feel like she had lost her sea legs in the oddly most amazing of ways - wasn’t meant to last. That she wasn’t the sea goddess he had fooled himself into believing that she was. That he deserved someone better than a seawitch’s poor unfortunate daughter…

Harry reached out, swiping his thumb across her cheek wiping away tears. (She had started crying. When did that happen?)

“I was so afraid when Ben and I found you in your room. Afraid not for me or even Gil initially when I saw his bandana, but for _you_. It made me sad and angry that you may never wake up again. That it was so obviously Mal who did this to you but that I couldn’t do anything to fix it.” She shook her head, placing her hand over his where it still remained on her cheek even after all the tears had been wiped away. “So I don’t know what love feels like, but I know what it feels like to be afraid of losing something else that I consider mine. Of wanting to protect what’s mine at any cost.”

“Yours, eh?” Harry grinned softly, leaning forward so that his forehead rested against her shoulder. “I like the sound of that, darling,” she felt his grin as he turned his head slightly, pressing soft kisses against her neck, letting out a soft moan when her hand instinctively moved to to run through his dark locks, tugging in a way that felt like he had reached heaven, both their breaths growing heavy.

It would be so easy to stay there and pretend that there was nothing outside of this room. That it was just the two of them. A girl and her sailor.  

But Gil’s bright smile popped into Uma’s head and guilt snapped her back to reality. She made a promise to Gil and villain or not, she couldn’t allow herself to let him down.

“Harry,” she began, pulling his face away from her neck where he had slowly been making a path of lazy kisses down. However, she didn’t get to finish because the doors to the infirmary unexpectedly opened, CJ followed by a tall beautiful woman in an Auradon Navy captain’s uniform entering the room.

“Oh! Uma you’re here! I thought-” CJ greeted before she realized that Uma was holding hands with her very much awake (and very much disheveled looking) brother. “YOU DID IT!” she squealed, a blur of blonde hair and joyful tears before she leapt at both of them, embracing them tightly as they all fell back on the bed. “I knew it!” she said through her tears. “You two were meant for each other.”

Uma wasn’t sure how to respond but Harry merely laughed, pulling them both together towards him, tightening the embrace like they both would fly off.

A throat clearing interrupted the reunion and Uma over CJ’s shoulder saw the naval captain watching them, expression closed off and distant. “Calista Jane,” she scolded. “You’re much too close to him right now. We don’t know if he’s strong enough to be around magic due to his intolerance in his current weakened and _vulnerable_ ,” she spat out the word glaring at Uma, “state. You can roughhouse our brother when he has been cleared by both a doctor and Fairy Godmother.”

CJ pouted but there was no room for argument with the woman who would take over as commander of the Auradon Navy when Captain Hook retired. CJ pushed herself off the bed, self consciously tugging on her gloves and sleeves to make sure that they were firmly in place and that no direct skin contact had been made with her weakened brother. “Sorry Harriet.”

The captain, Harriet, gave a curt nod before turning her sharp gaze once again on Uma. Like with CJ, it was only due to Harry having already told her about his sister’s and the confident swagger that both Harry and CJ had as well and that still managed to slip through the naval captain’s straightlaced appearance that Uma knew that this was Harriet Jones, Harry’s older half-sister.

“I’m sorry, miss,” Harriet began, not sounding sorry at all. “But only family members of the patient are allowed to visit the infirmary. And since you are of magical parentage as well, I really must insist that you leave now for my brother’s well being, please.”

“Now wait just a minute, Ettie,” Harry growled annoyed. “I feel fine! Better than fine, actually!”

“It’s fine,” Uma said to him softly, squeezing his hand, before turning towards Harriet with a much more guarded look. “I was just about to leave anyway.”

Uma got off the bed, forcing herself to let go of his hand. When they both let go, she instantly missed the physical touch and tried to ignore the hurt look that Harry gave her. She gave a small smile to CJ who looked not at all happy with the current situation before brushing past Harriet on her way out the infirmary.

Uma forced herself not to look back. Not even when Harry called out for her. If she did, she would never be able to follow through with the plan that was beginning to take form in her mind...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I'm so sorry for the wait! I've recently moved and started my PhD program and my schedule is maybe even busier than it was when I was getting my Masters. Anyway, I didn't forget this story or all of you lovely readers. Though updates may be slightly slower until the winter holidays, I am still very dedicated to getting this and my other Descendants stories finished. (My goal is to get them all finished or almost finished by the time D3 comes out but that may be a lofty goal with how much limited free time I currently have.)
> 
> Anyway, as always, thank you all for being so patient and for your continued support. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The scene with Harry and "the pirate queen" is from the "What's My Name" music video and actually connects this story to my other story "We'll Light the Fuse" though you don't need to read that story to understand what's going on in this story and also you won't be able to see how exactly they both connect until much later in WLTF, like towards the end which is still a while away. If anything, it's kind of like an easter egg. Cool if you find it and understand what it means but if you don't you're not missing anything. 
> 
> Until next time!


	8. The Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Harry receives a gift.

_“I don’t know what love feels like…”_

“Are you sure you’re alright, Harry?”

He sighed loudly, pulled from his thoughts. Shaky hands ran irritated fingers through his already messy hair as he pushed away from his dorm room window. He breathed in deeply through his nose, just like his old therapist, Mr. Topolino used to instruct him.

It didn’t help.

“Again, Harriet,” Harry tried to keep the irritation out of his tone as he turned towards her, “for the hundredth time, I’m fine.”

“You’re gonna smother him with your hovering, Ettie,” CJ also seemed to be annoyed with their sister.  She laid on her back with her head hanging upside down over the edge. “The infirmary cleared him days ago.” Her face broke out into a mischievous little grin. “Though his big-head syndrome is unfortunately incurable.”

Harry threw a balled up shirt at her, grinning at the surprised squeal she let out.

Harriet glared at her siblings but sighed after a moment, picking up her captain’s hat and fiddling with it. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “Just knowing that my brother was targeted by Gaston’s bumbling son and Ursula’s wretched daughter has put me on edge.”

Harry closed his eyes. “It _wasn’t_ them, Ettie.”

“Really?” Harriet snorted incredulously, flicking her long braid over her shoulder. “Because breaking a suspect from their cell and running away in the middle of the night seems pretty guilty to me, Harry _James_. Their parents, who were villains, raised them to be liar and thieves! It was only a matter of time, if you ask me,” she crossed her arms with a sneer.

Harry’s jaw clenched. He turned his glare back to the window.

Harriet was telling the truth. They had left in the middle of the night, leaving even Mal and her gang clueless. They hadn’t stolen anything (afterall, Harry had _given_ Uma his heart) but King Adam wanted them found. _Now._

Glancing at CJ who was glaring at her, Harriet sighed, cursing under her breath. “I’m sorry Harry. I…,” she paused searching for the right words. “I hate to see you hurting.”

Though she and her siblings kept in regular enough contact, it felt like ages since Harriet actually felt like a big sister for her brother. The last time they had been in a room together was when Harry had just been a tall gangly thing. She missed the little boy who would string shells together for her whenever she came back from her naval training. The one who cried into her neck when their father had deemed it necessary to send him to live with the King and Queen when Neverland was too much for his intolerance. This young man before her was different.

He was a stranger to her.

Harriet bit her lip, putting down her hat and instead picked up the plain box she had brought with her earlier. “I don’t intend to stay long,” she cleared her throat, adopting the detached but commanding air of the Royal Navy captain that she was. “I know you have to get to that fitting for Ben’s coronation and my crew is undoubtedly iching to take sail again but...I thought that it was a good time to give you this,” she said said holding out the box to him.

Curiosity winning out over his dark mood, Harry moved away from his window, taking the box into his hands. It was heavier than he initially thought it was going to be. He went over to his bed, playfully pushing CJ off the bed to make room as he took a seat with the box on his lap. The blonde threw a pillow at his head which Harriet caught as she sat down next to her brother.

Harry opened the box, pushing aside Harriet’s perfectly wrapped tissue paper to reveal dark red leather.

He found himself speechless.

“Is this...?” he began taking the item further out of the box to reveal a red leather jacket.

“Yeah,” Harriet nodded, the corner of her lips tugging upwards sadly. “It belonged to your mother.”

Harry ran his hand over the jacket’s material feeling the small embroidered swan that had been stitched under the fold of the collar. Just like his father had described when Harry was just a young boy.

“I thought,” Harriet cleared her throat, “that you’d want it for the coronation. Not only is Ben being crowned as the reigning king but it’ll also be when he announces your appointment as the King’s Hand. His right hand. This jacket will show that you are more than worthy to take on the position.”

Standing up and moving over to his mirror, Harry shrugged on the jacket, feeling it magically shift around him to fit him, the amount of magic that had settled into every stitch and seam so old and established that it barely brushed against his awareness. When he looked down, the jacket had enlarged so not only did it fit his much broader shoulders, but it had also lengthened as well. (It was almost exactly like the one he had worn in his dream, if a bit cleaner.)

It was woven from fairy magic. One of the last remaining relics of Knights and Saviors. Roles that had been deemed unnecessary in this time of peace. And it had been gifted to his mother when she was just a young bounty hunter, rounding up some of the still living villains that Zeus hadn’t flushed with Hades out from the Underworld and onto the Isle.  He had thought that his father had given it to the Auradon Museum’s archives, next to Audrey’s father’s fairy blessed sword and shield.

“Thanks Harriet,” his voice was thick. He cleared his throat, blinking quickly. “Thank you.”

Harriet got up, pressing a quick kiss to his temple. “Only those who are worthy and truly have something to protect can wear this. She would be proud of you. Just like we are,” she said nodding towards CJ. “Just like father is.”

 _“Then why isn’t he here?”_  Harry wanted to question her but held his tongue. He didn’t want to argue with her over a man that they both knew was more of an elusive legend than an actual father to any of them.

Sensing his shift to heavier thoughts, CJ let out a loud sigh, drawing both of her siblings attention to her. “Harry gets a cool magic jacket and he’ll probably get a cool fancy ship of his own. What about me?” she pouted, arms crossed. She even stomped her foot for added effect, the soft chiming of bells heard in tandem with the movement.

Harriet rolled her eyes, reaching over to ruffle her sister’s hair. “Perhaps if _someone_ hadn’t sent Father’s favorite row boat over Pixie Falls, that _someone_ would have gotten her boating license by now.”

CJ groaned, rolling her eyes as she flopped onto her back on Harry’s bed. “I’m part Never-fairy! Sammy Smee should know that you can’t challenge me and expect me _not_ to prove you wrong! Competitiveness is a very overpowering emotion!” she cried throwing her hands up. “But did he get punished as an instigator to the crime? Nooooo! Buncha fairy discrimination!”

Harriet rolled her eyes, turning to her brother. “Do something about this one, will you?”

Harry shook with barely restrained laughter. “You say that like you think I have any control over the little demon?”

“Hey!”

“Wishful thinking, I suppose,” Harriet shrugged, already making her way towards the door. She paused, a proud look in her eye as she looked at Harry. “I know things haven’t gone how you expected them to, but I am seriously proud of you. Both of you,” she said before leaving the room, Harry and CJ left behind.

“Well,” CJ said getting up, brushing off imaginary dust off her. “I hate lying to Harriet.”

Closing his eyes, Harry pulled out Ursula’s old shell necklace from underneath his shirt, not able to help the little smile that came to his face when the necklace seemed to hum at his touch, a sound that if he focused intently enough sounded like the most beautiful voice singing to him.

“Ye know ye didn’t have to be a part of this,” he looked at her seriously. “Ye can walk away and no one would be none the wiser. Ye’d be a hero.”

CJ pursed her lips, reaching up to adjust his collar. “ _Ye_ know _ye_ sound ridiculous with that accent when _ye_ get stressed,” she teased back. “Besides, I have a debt to repay.” When she was done, she took a step back. “Plus,” she smirked, oozing with mischief. “I always wanted to be a pirate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Thank you so much as always for your feedback and support. This chapter is a bit shorter than usual but I felt like this was a good place to end. Ideally, only two more chapters left!
> 
> A little fun fact, Harry's mom, Emma, for those of you who may not have watched Once Upon A Time, was originally going to be an actual character in the story. She was supposed to be a guard who went to the Isle during the earlier years to make sure everything was in order when she found a crying baby. She manages to sneak him back to Auradon and raise him. The only issue with that story line was that Harriet and CJ would have been still on the Isle in that version and I hate splitting up my Hook siblings. So yeah...Emma was always supposed to be a thing.
> 
> Anyway, I'll try getting out the next chapter as soon as possible but please be patient with me as I'm going through with a lot of life changes currently. 
> 
> Until next time!

**Author's Note:**

> And the Huma plot bunnies strike again! Story title from the song "Feelings" by Haley Kiyoko that I've been playing non-stop for days now.
> 
> Okay, so as stated before, this was a prompt originally given to me by an anon on Tumblr (@edream93). I really liked the idea and wanted to expand on it and thus...here we are. For those who are patiently waiting for an update for my other Huma story "We'll Light the Fuse", don't worry, that will be updated soon and this little side project should hopefully be done before the end of this year (or so I hope). I'm thinking 2 or 3 more chapters.
> 
> Anyway, I would love to know what you think of this story so far! (Also, I know nothing about Navy rankings and just did a quick search for highest Navy ranking so if that's not an Admiral, please let me know.


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